The last league match of Group B against Pakistan is vital as the winner of the match will qualify for the semifinals.[break]
Pakistan and Sri Lanka lead the group with two wins each while Nepal is in the third position with one win and as many defeat. Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIC) from India lies at the rock-bottom with three defeats and is out of the tournament.
The top two teams will qualify from the group and Nepal´s win over Pakistan can hand two wins for Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the top teams will be decided by run rate.
Nepal had lost its opening match against Sri Lanka, which has played all of its three league matches. Nepal had defeated KIC in the second league match.
Nepal has registered only one victory against Pakistan in its four meeting for the past 10 years. Nepal shared a point with Pakistan during the ICC Youth World Cup 2000. Nepal had qualified for the quarterfinals during the tournament.
Nepal had defeated Pakistan by 30 runs during the ICC Youth World Cup in 2002. Batting first, Nepal scored 151 runs losing all wickets. Nepal restricted Pakistan in just 121 runs. Bardan Chalise was the highest scorer of the match with 42 runs.
In their recent meetings, Nepal suffered two defeats during the South Asian Games (Under-23) held in Bangladesh last year. In the first match, Nepal lost by 91 runs and in the second Pakistan won by two wickets.
In the first of the two matches in Bangladesh, Pakistan scored 173 runs with the loss of two wickets. Nepal was restricted to just 82 runs. Gyanendra Malla and Pradeep Airee were the highest scorers with 21 runs each. In another match, batting first Nepal scored 147 runs with a half century innings from Airee. Pakistan reached the target losing eight wickets with three balls to spare.
Six players of Nepali squad and three of Pakistani squad have already faced each other during the South Asian Games held in Bangladesh last year.
On the other hand, Pakistan has won both of its matches -- one against Sri Lanka and the other against KIC.
For Saturday´s match, Nepal´s skipper Paras Khadka said that the team will play for victory. “Pakistan is the stronger side but we will prove them that we are not weak. We have to improve our bowling as the bowlers, apart from Krishna Karki, have not performed well in this tournament.”
Nepal´s coach Pubudu Dassanayake said the team will win the match against Pakistan and fix its semifinal place. "The team has been improving with every passing match,” he said.
Related story
SMS Friendship T20 Cup match: Nepal to face host team Gujarat t...
