Kathmandu, January 10

Nepal faced a four-wicket loss against Bangladesh for their second consecutive defeat in the fifth Blind Cricket World Cup at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Pakistan today.

Put into bat first, Nepal scored 234-9 in their allotted 40 overs before Bangladesh raced to 234-6 in 33 overs. Both Nepal and Bangladesh had suffered nine-wicket defeats against Pakistan in their opening matches.

In the day’s match, Nepal posted a fighting total riding on skipper Kritan Duwal Shrestha’s half century. Shrestha struck three boundaries in his 73-ball 66.

Khimananda Gaire scored 34 runs off 52 balls and Padam Bahadur Badaila added 30 off 28 deliveries. Bangladesh’s Khorshed Alam claimed three wickets and Arif Ullah took two wickets.

In reply, Bangladesh achieved target after the man-of-the-match Mehmud Rashid scored an unbeaten 60 off 61 balls. Ashiqur Rehman hit run-a-ball 45 and M Abdul Malik chipped in with 38 balls.

Bharat Thapa was pick up the Nepali bowlers taking two wickets, while Khimananda Gaire, skipper Shrestha and Durga Poudel claimed one wicket each.

Nepali team skipper Shrestha was named the valuable player of the match and earned Rs 10,000 Pakistani rupees. Nepal will play their third match against Sri Lanka in the UAE on January 13.