Nepal wins its inaugural match under ACC Twenty20 Cricket Tournament

KATHMANDU: Nepal made a winning start in the ACC Twenty20 Elite Cup Cricket Tournament that began at the TU Cricket ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday.

The hosts defeated Maldives by 76 runs to kick off the campaign for the tournament trophy with a win.

Put into bat after losing the toss, Nepal posted a total of 171 runs in the stipulated 20 overs at the loss of 5 wickets.

Pradeep Aire was the top scorer for Nepal with 59 runs including 4 sixes and 8 fours. Sharad Bheswakar (36), Subas Khakurel (26), Manjit Shrestha (20) and Binod Bhandari (15) were other significant contributors to the Nepali total.

In reply, Maldives could muster only 95 runs at the loss of 7 wickets in their full quota of 20 overs. Paras Khadka was the pick of the bowlers, who took two wickets and gave away just 7 runs. Shakti Gauchan, Manjit Shrestha, Basant Regmi and Sanjam Regmi took one wicket each.

Nepal will play Hong Kong in its second match tomorrow.