KATHMANDU, AUGUST 25
Nepal defeated Kenya by five wickets in the opening match of the Twenty20 International Series at the Nairobi Gymkhana in Nairobi today.
Nepal restricted Kenya for 130-8 in allotted 20 overs before reaching 133-5 with four balls to spare in the first of the five-match series.
Chasing the modest target, Nepal made a disastrous start losing ooener Pawan Sarraf with just four runs on the board. Aasif Sheikh contributed 19 runs, while former skipper Gyanendra Malla scored 23 runs in his comeback match.
Rohit Paudel was dismissed for 13 runs, while Dioendra Singh Airee top scored with 33 runs. Aarif Sheikh remained unbeated on 24. Nepal needed six runs from the final over and Sheikh hit two straight boundaries in the first two balls to seal the victory. Vraj Patel and Lucas Oluoch took two wickets each for Kenya.
Earlier, Irfan Khan top scored for the home team with 34 runs, while Lucas Oluoch remained unbeaten on 31 runs. Nelson Odhiambo contributed 19 runs. Sachin Bhudia scored 17, while Collins Obuya made 12.
Sompal Kami was the pick of the Nepali bowlers 3-22, while skipper Sandeep Lamichhane bagged 2-33. Aadil Ansari and Dipendra Singh Airee pocketed one wicket each. The two teams will face each other in the second match on Friday.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 26, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
