KATHMANDU, March 10: Nepal is set to face off against the host team Hong Kong in the opening match of the triangular T20I series today. The match is scheduled to commence at 11:15AM Nepali time at Mong Kok.
The triangular T20I series features Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Hong Kong. Nepal's squad for this series does not include key players such as Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Asif Sheikh, and Sompal Kami.
Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient, will shine again
In their previous encounter, Nepal suffered a defeat against Hong Kong by 73 runs in the Friendship Cup's match on Saturday.
Batting first, Hong Kong took full advantage of Nepal's weak bowling attack and scored 212 runs. Babar Hayat scored 110 runs in 49 balls with 3 fours and 13 sixes. Martin Coetzee contributed 31 runs off 21 balls. Babar and Martin pose significant threats with the bat, and dismissing them early will be crucial for Nepal.
Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath are other formidable batsmen in Hong Kong's lineup. Aizaz Khan and Ehsan Khan proved to be the primary wicket-takers in the previous match, with 4 and 3 wickets respectively.
Nepal's batting heavily relies on the top order, with Kushal Bhurtel, Binod Bhandari, and Rohit Poudel being key batsmen. One of these players will need to deliver a substantial innings.
Karan KC is expected to replace Rashid Khan in today's match after the latter conceded 48 runs in three overs in the previous encounter. This series holds significant importance for Bibek Yadav and Sandeep Jora, both of whom were dismissed cheaply in the first match, scoring 2 and 1 run respectively.
