Nepal ‘A’ defeated by Northern Territory Strike in ongoing T20 cricket tournament in Australia
KATHMANDU:- Nepal ‘A’ was defeated by the host team, Northern Territory Strike, in their opening match of the ongoing Top End T20 Series in Australia. Nepal ‘A’ lost by eight wickets in the match held today at the Marrara Cricket Ground in Australia.
Chasing the target of 123 runs set by Nepal A, Northern Territory Strike achieved the goal in 15 overs for the loss of two wickets. Northern Territory Strike batted aggressively from the start; D’Arcy Short’s team saw Doutje Hoogenboezem contribute an unbeaten top score of 50 runs, while Jordan Silk remained unbeaten on 42 and captain D’Arcy Short scored 23.
Nepal’s Pawan Sarraf took two wickets for 13 runs in three overs. Earlier, the Nepali team, having lost the toss and batted first, posted a total of 122 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Pawan Sarraf was the top scorer for Nepal, hitting 41 runs off 49 balls with the help of three fours and a six.
Lokesh Bam scored 16 runs off 13 balls (including a four and a six), Narayan Joshi scored 15 off eight balls (with a four and a six), captain Anil Sah scored 14 off nine balls (with a four and a six), and Tritraj Das scored 13 off nine balls (including two fours). Rashid Khan scored 10 runs, and Kushal Malla scored nine. Nepal’s opener Kushal Bhurtel was dismissed without scoring after facing five balls, while Shahab Alam and Rijan Dhakal remained unbeaten on zero.
For Northern Territory Strike, Hamish Martin took three wickets for 19 runs in four overs. Meanwhile, Tom Menzies, Sam Barker, William Blair, and D’Arcy Short claimed one wicket each. Nepal A will play against the Bangladesh ‘A’ team on Saturday.
