Nepal wins ACC T20 opener

 (Update III)

KATHMANDU, March 26: Opener Pradeep Airee hammered a solid half century as Nepal opened the ACC T20 Cup campaign on a winning note, defeating the Maldives by 76 runs, at TU cricket ground in Kathmandu on Tuesday.



Invited to bat first, Nepal scored 171/5 in 20 overs, with the man of the match Airee top-scoring with 59 of just 26 balls. The home team bundled out the Maldives for 95/7 in 20 overs. For the visiting team, N Nasir scored 20 not out. [break]



Nepali skipper Paras Khadka took two wickets conceding just seven runs. Likewise, Sanjam Regmi, Shakti Gauchan, Basanta Regmi and Manjeet Shrestha took one wicket apiece, while one Maldives batsman was run out.



Earlier, apart from Airee, Sharad Vesawkar made an unbeaten 36, while Subash Khakurel scored 26. Manjeet Shrestha remained unbeaten on 20 and Binod Bhandari chipped in with 15. For Maldives, M Saafee grabbed two wickets for 30 runs.



Airee and Khakurel laid a solid foundation for Nepal sharing a brilliant 80 runs opening stand. Today´s team total was second best for Nepal in this format of the game, the best being 183 against Saudi Arabia during the last year´s ACC T20 Cup match played at the same venue.



Also today´s match is the second encounter between Nepal and the Maldives in the shortest format of cricket. The two sides last met during the 2013 Guangzhou Asian Games in China. Nepal had defeated the Maldives by 75 runs then.



Both Nepal and the Maldives began their international debut in the cricket in 1996. The two teams were regular rivals about 10 years ago. Nepal had defeated the Maldives by five wickets in ACC Trophy back in 2000.



Today’s match was the first hurdle toward the qualification for the World Cup, as Nepal moves a step closer to its dream of participating in the T20 World Cup. Nepal will take on Hong Kong on Wednesday.



Hong Kong thrashes Malaysia by 6 wickets

In another match played in the day, Hong Kong defeated Malaysia by six wickets. Batting first at Pulchowk Engineering Cricket Ground, Malaysia made 103 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs.



In reply, Hong Kong scored 108 runs in just 12 overs losing four wickets. Hong Kong opener Irfan Ahmed made 87 off just 39 balls with 10 fours and six sixes to secure an easy win for his team.

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