Tri-Nation T20 Cricket: Nepal lost to Netherlands by 3 wickets

KATHMANDU: Nepal lost to Netherlands by 3 wickets in the third match of the tri-nation T20 International Series played at the Kirtipur Cricket Ground today.

Despite the half-centuries of Kaushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh Airee and the four wickets of Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal could not save the score of 206 runs. The Netherlands completed the target of 207 runs by losing 7 wickets in 19.3 overs.

After this victory, the Netherlands has avenged the defeat suffered by Nepal last Saturday.

Nepal will play the last league game against Malaysia on Thursday. After two wins, Netherlands and Nepal have 4 points each. In terms of run rate, Nepal is still in the top position.

Earlier, Nepali batsman had again played a good knock today at the Kirtipur Cricket Ground against Netherlands in a tri-nation T20 cricket series.

After winning the toss, Nepal chose to bat first and scored 206 with the loss of six wickets. Nepali opener Kushal Bhurtel again scored magnificent 62 runs facing just 42 balls. He hit 8 fours and one six. This is his third strait 50s in the series.

Another opening batsman Aasif Sheikh was dismissed with 0 in the bowling of Kingma. However, Gyanendra Malla (20), Dipendra Singh Airee (60), Sompal Kami (21), Kushal Malla (18) helped lift the score fast forward.

Match summary:

Nepal: 206/6 (20 overs) (Kushal Bhurtel 62, Dipendra Singh Airee 60)

Netherlands: 208/7 (19.3 overs) (Bas de Leede 81, Ben Cooper 55, Sandeep Lamichhane 4/48)

Nepali squad:

Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Gyanendra Malla (Captain), Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Binod Bhandari (WK), Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Abinash Bohora, Shahab Alam, Sandeep Lamichhane