Hong Kong outplay Singapore in first int'l match at Mulpani
Kathmandu, April 18
Bhim Sharki and Kushal Malla scored half centuries as Nepal defeated Malaysia by six wickets, while Hong Kong outplayed Singapore by eight wickets in the opening day matches of the ACC Premier Cup here today.
Batting first at the TU Stadium, Malaysia posted 235-9 in their allotted 50 overs before the home team reached 237-4 with 82 balls to spare. Sharki and Malla added 112-run partnership for the fourth wicket to propel Nepal to easy victory.
Chasing the 238-run target, Nepal lost opener Aasif Sheikh (one) in the sixth ball of the innings with just five runs on the board after Muhammad Wafiq took a return catch. Kushal Bhurtel dominated the second-wicket partnership of 48 runs with Sharki as the opener hit five fours and two sixes in his 31-ball 38.
Sharki and skipper Rohit Paudel shared a 66-run partnership for the third wicket before Virandeep Singh dismissed the latter. Paudel hit five boundaries in his 43-ball 42. Sharki and Malla then took Nepal close to victory with a 112-run partnership for the fourth wicket. But Sharki - who scored 71 off 98 balls with the help of five boundaries - was dismissed at a time when Nepal needed five runs to complete the victory.
Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee completed the formality.
Airee (five not out) hit the winning boundary off Muhamad Syahadat, while Malla remained unbeaten on 70 off 40 balls that included five each fours and sixes. Malla was later named the player of the match.
Muhammad Wafiq, Rizwan Haider, Vijay Unni and Virandeep Singh grabbed one wicket each for Malaysia.
Earlier, skipper Ahmad Faiz top scored for Malaysia with 76 off 85 balls with the help of eight boundaries and a six, while Virandeep Singh contributed 94-ball 46. Other batters failed to make notable contributions although six players scored in double figures.
Faiz and Singh shared a 116- run stand for the second wicket but others could not build partnerships after they were dismissed in the space of 17 runs and Malaysia lost seven wickets for 80 runs in 13 overs.
Sompal Kami (3-40) and Sandeep Lamichhane (3-48) shared six wickets between them, while Lalit Rajbanshi grabbed two wickets for Nepal and Gulsan Jha pocketed one.
At the Mulpani grounds, Hong Kong skittled Singapore out for a paltry 174 runs and raced to 175-2 with 102 balls remaining. Babar Hayat scored an unbeaten century, while skipper Nizakat Khan hit half century for Hong Kong.
Chasing a 175-run target, Hong Kong made a slow start scoring 14 runs in the first five overs and they lost opener Anshy Rath (six) in the first ball of the sixth over. Khan and Hayat then added 132 runs for the second wicket. Khan was bowled by Antra Dutta for 89- ball 51 that included three fours and a six.
Player-of-the-match Hayat dominated the unbroken third-wicket partnership of 29 runs in two overs as Kinchit Khan (one) faced just four balls. Hayat, who reached the triple figures in 92 balls, remained unbeaten on 94-ball 108 that included 10 boundaries and six sixes. Ramesh Kalimuthu and Aritra Dutta took one wicket each for Singapore.
Earlier, Singapore skipper Aritra Dutta top scored for the team with 49 off 57 balls with the help of nine boundaries, while Aaryan Modi was the best at 21.
Ehsan Khan was the pick of the Hong Kong bowlers taking 4-24 and he was ably supported by Yasim Murtaza (3-25). Ayush Shukla, Aizaz Khan and Mohammad Ghazanfar bagged one wicket each.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
