KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 1
Nepal thrashed Maldives by 138 runs for their second straight victory and advanced to the quarter-finals of the T20 cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou today.
Batting first, Nepal accumulated 212-7 in their allotted 20 overs before packing Maldives for a paltry 74 runs with two balls to spare in the Group B match at the Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field. Nepal had defeated Mongolia by a record 273 runs in their first match last week.
Nepal lost Aasif Sheikh (six) with 20 runs on the board before opener Kushal Bhurtel and wicketkeeper Binod Bhandari (13) - who came in place of Karan KC - added 34 runs for the second wicket before Maldives removed them in the space of four runs.
Bhurtel scored a quick fire 35 off 18 balls with the help of five boundaries and a six. Sundeep Jora (five) was dismissed cheaply as Nepal came under pressure at 67-4 inside 10 overs.
Gulsan Jha and skipper Rohit Paudel revived the innings with a 70-run partnership for the fifth wicket, while Paudel added another 60 runs with Kushal Malla to take control of the match. Jha scored 21-ball 35 that included a four and three sixes, while Paudel hit three each fours and sixes in his 27-ball 52.
Malla - who broke the world record by scoring 34-ball century against Mongolia in the first match of the tournament - remained unbeaten on 47 off just 20 balls that included three boundaries and as many sixes.
Another world record holder Dipendra Singh Airee - who scored a half century off just nine balls against Mongolia - hit a six in the first ball he faced before being dismissed in the next delivery.
Nazwan Ismail was the pick of the Maldives bowlers taking 3-17, while Naseer Naail Ismail, Mohamed Miuvaan and Tholal Mohamed Raya bagged one wicket each.
In reply, Abinash Bohara rattled the Maldives batting order with six wickets. Only three Maldives batters could score in double figures, while six players failed to open their accounts.
Muaviath Ganee top scored for Maldives with 36 off 34 balls that included two each fours and sixes, while Rasheed Rassam (12) and Fareed Shius (10) were the only other batters who reached double figures.
Bohara was the chief destroyer taking 6-11 from 3.4 overs, while Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Sandeep Lamichhane and Kushal Bhurtel grabbed one wicket each for Nepal. Bohara - who grabbed three wickets in the last four balls of the sixth over - became the first Nepali bowler to take six wickets in T20 International cricket. Lamichhane and Karan KC are the two other Nepali bowlers with five-wicket hauls.
With their second straight victory, Nepal accumulated four points and advanced to the quarter-finals as Group A winners.
Hong Kong have made it to the last eight as Group B winners, while Malaysia are most likely to join them from Group C unless they face heavy defeat at the hands of Thailand on Monday.
Afghanistan are also in the last eight without facing any opponent after they protested the organisers' decision of forming four groups including them in the preliminary draw. Four other nations - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - were directly drawn in the quarter-finals and their last eight opponents will be decided through a draw on Monday.
In Archery, all four Nepali players passed through the qualification round in Recurve and Compound Individual events and earned berths in the Round of 32.
Tilak Pun Magar scored 634 points in the Recurve 70m event, while Manju Bajagain accumulated 506 points in the women's section. Likewise, Yogendra Sherchan earned 622 points in the Compound 50m event, whereas Imayung Rai accumulated 647 points in the women's category.
On Monday, Pun Magar will face Zaw Thiha Htet of Myanmar, while Bajagain will take on Diya Siddique of Bangladesh in the elimination round of the Recurve event. Likewise, Sherchan will play against Eshaq Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Daghman of Iraq, whereas Rai will face Aditi Gopichand Swami of India in Round of 32 elimination matches of Compound Individual event.
In squash, Nepal faced 2-0 loss against Hong Kong in the mixed doubles event. Amrit Thapa Magar and Swasthani Shrestha lost 11-1, 11-3 against Ka Yi Lee and Chi Him Wong. Nepali players, Amrit Thapa Magar, Arhant Keshar Simha, Krishna Thapa and Bipana Blon all faced straight-set defeats in the Round of 32 singles matches.
In athletics, Nepal's Phulmati Rana recorded her personal best time in women's 1,500m race finals.
Rana finished the distance in four minutes and 37.64 seconds to better her previous mark of 4:49.22 set during the Asian Championship in Bangkok earlier this year. But she was 15th out of 17 participants, finishing ahead of Laos and Pakistan athletes. On Saturday, Deepak Adhikari set the new national record in the men's 10,000m race.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
