Nepal sweep past Malaysia for second Tri-Nations win |
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19/04/2021POSTED BY Malaysian Cricket Association Admin |
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NEPAL avenged their last defeat to Malaysia with a nine-wicket win to edge closer to the final of the Bajaj Pulsar Tri-Nations T20I Series in Kirtipur, Nepal on Sunday. The hosts top the standings at the halfway point of the preliminary round with four points from two wins while the Netherlands are second with two points. Malaysia has lost both their matches to sit bottom of the table. Malaysia started the match on the back of a 15-run defeat to an under-strength Dutch team on Sunday while Nepal had trounced the Netherlands by nine wickets on Saturday. The hosts, who lost by 22 runs to Malaysia at the Asia Cup Eastern Region Qualifier in Bangkok last year, showed they did not miss former skipper Paras Khadka, who was ruled out on the eve of the tournament with an injury. Only three batsmen reached double figures as Malaysia was dismissed for 109 runs in 16.5 overs with questionable shot selections giving Nepal a helping hand at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground. Syed Aziz Syed Mubarak and Sharvin Muniandy laboured to 27 and 20 runs respectively as Malaysia slipped to 77-6 in 12 overs before Nepal took just 12.1 overs to reach 113-1, thanks to a century opening partnership. Malaysia made one bowling change from Sunday's match with Syazrul Ezat Idrus, who took the wicket of Khadka in the two teams' last meeting, replacing Wafiq Irfan Zarbani. Nepal, 14th in the ICC T20I men's team rankings, won the toss and chose to field with Syed Aziz and Anwar Arudin (8) taking Malaysia to 17 runs after nine balls before the latter offered an inside edge to wicketkeeper Binod Bhandari off Karan KC. Syed Aziz plundered 14 runs, including two fours and a six, off Nepal's top bowler Sandeep Lamichhane but 31st-ranked Malaysia then slipped to 33-2 following a mix up between the batsmen which saw captain Ahmad Faiz Mohammed Noor run out by Bhandari after Syed Aziz did not respond to Faiz's call for a second run. A day after scoring his highest individual T20I score of 87, Virandeep Singh fell for six when he got an inside edge from Sompal Kami onto the off stump as Malaysia slumped to 45-3 after seven overs. Syed Aziz was next to go four deliveries later when he tried to reverse sweep Dipendra Airee only to send it straight to the fielder at backward square leg for 27 runs off 24 balls. Lamichhane, the first Nepalese cricketer to play in the Indian Premier League, claimed his maiden wicket of the match when he bowled Shafiq Sharif (15) a googly before Aminuddin Ramly (5) hoisted high to present Shahab Alam a wicket. From 77-6 after 12 overs, man-of-the-match Karan picked up two more wickets including Sharvin's for 20 as Malaysia added 32 runs before folding for 109. Khushal Bhurtel scored an unbeaten 61 as he featured in a 102-run partnership with Aasif Sheikh (42) for the opening wicket. Between them, the pair hit six sixes and seven fours before Virandeep dismissed Aasif with his first delivery. Nepal faces the Netherlands again on Tuesday while Malaysia returns to action on Wednesday against the Dutch. BRIEF SCORES Malaysia 109 in 16.5 overs (Syed Aziz 27, M Sharvin 20, Shafiq Sharif 15, Karan KC 3-17, S Lamichhane 2-25) Nepal 113-1 in 12.1 overs (K Bhurtel 61 not out, Aasif Sheikh 42, Virandeep Singh 1-7) RESULT Nepal won by 9 wickets FIXTURES Apr 20 – Nepal v Netherlands (3.30pm) Apr 21 – Malaysia v Netherlands (2.30pm) Apr 22 – Nepal v Malaysia (3.30pm) Apr 24 – Final (3.30pm) (Matches at Tribhuvan University Ground in Kirtipur, start times are Malaysian) |
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