KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 2
Aasif Sheikh scored a century as Nepal defeated Kenya by seven wickets in the first One Day match at the Gymkhana Club grounds in Nairobi today.
Batting first, the home team was bowled out for 218 runs in 48.1 overs before Nepal reached 221-3 with 16 balls to spare. The second game of the threematch series is on Saturday.
Nepal openers Arjun Saud and Aasif Sheikh laid the foundation for the easy victory. They shared a 141-runs partnership in 30 overs before wicketkeeper Saud was dismissed for 61 off 87 balls that included five fours and a six.
Sheikh and Gyanendra Malla then added 57 runs for the second wicket to take the team score close to 200-run mark before they were dismissed in the space of six runs. Stand-in skipper Rohit Paudel (three) and Dipendra Singh Airee took the team home safely.
Sheikh top scored with 110 off 120 balls with the help of 12 boundaries and two sixes, while Malla contributed 50-ball 24 and Airee remained unbeaten on 11-ball 15 that included one each four and six. Vishil Patel, Rakep Patel and Collins Obuya claimed one wicket each for the home team.
Earlier, Kenya recovered from 49-4 to post a fighting total. Sompal Kami struck twice, while Karan KC and Pawan Sarraf claimed one wicket each as Nepal put the home team in a precarious position inside 13 overs. But Rakep Patel and Collins Obuya revived the innings with a 130-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Patel top scored for the home team with 67 off 74 balls hitting seven boundaries and two sixes, while Obuya struck three fours and two sixes in his 118-ball 62.
Wicketkeeper Irfan Karim scored 30 off 41 balls that included five boundaries and a six, while Sachin Bhudia hit two sixes in his 21-ball 30.
Sompal Kami (3-29) and Karan KC (2-38) shared six wickets between them, while Aadil Ansari and Pawan Sarraf claimed one each. Rohit Paudel is leading the Nepali team in the One Day Series in the absence of regular skipper Sandeep Lamichhane, who left for the West Indies to participate in the Caribbean Premier League after the five-match T20I Series which Nepal won 3-2.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 3, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
