KATHMANDU, AUGUST 30

Nepal beat Kenya by 31 runs in the fifth Twenty20 International match to win the series 3-2 at the Gymkhana Club in Nairobi today.

Batting first, Nepal posted 157-7 in their allotted 20 overs riding on former skipper Gyanendra Malla's half century and some lusty hitting from vice-captain Rohit Paudel. In reply, Kenya reached 144-7. Nepal won first, third and fifth matches of the five-match series, while the home team recorded victories in the second and fourth. The two teams will now play threematch One Day series.

Malla and Arjun Saud opened the innings and the duo put up 65 runs in eight overs before the former skipper and Dipendra Singh Airee shared a 40-run partnership for the second wicket.

Player-of-the-match Malla top scored with 59 off 44 balls that included five boundaries and to sixes, while Saud struck four boundaries and a six in his 21-ball 29.

Airee scored 22 off 18 balls, while Pawan Sarraf (one), Mohammad Aadil Alam (four) and Bibek Yadav (two) fell cheaply. Vice-captain Paudel dominated the 41-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Alam before being dismissed for 47 off 25 balls that included seven boundaries.

Nehemiah Odhiambo, Shem Ngoche and Vraj Patel took two wickets each for Kenya, while Lucas Oluoch grabbed one.

In reply, the home team were reduced to 55-4 inside 11 overs as the batters failed to build partnerships.

Odhiambo top scored with 22-ball 37 that included four boundaries and a six, while skipper Ngoche struck three fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 18-ball 33.

Irfan Karim scored 28 off 29 balls hitting three fours, while opener Collins Obuyo contributed 23. Nelson Odhiambo and skipper Ngoche added 31 runs for the unbroken eighth wicket but that was not enough for them to over the target.

Odhiambo remained unbeaten on 13.

Nepal skipper Sandeep Lamichhane and Basir Ahamad took two wickets each, while Karan KC, Mohammad Aadil Alam and Dipendra Singh Airee bagged one apiece. Lamichhane, who was named the player of the series, will now leave for the West Indies to participate in the Caribbean Premier League. Vice-captain Paudel will lead the Nepali team in One Day Series.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 31, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.