#Nepal claimed an impressive 80-run victory against Hong Kong in the battle of the tournament debutants on the opening day of the World Twenty20. Gyanendra Malla (48) and Paras Khadka (41) shared an 80-run stand for the third wicket to underpin a total of 149-8 after Nepal had been asked to bat in the Group A fixture in Chittagong. Hong Kong were bowled out for 69 in reply with left-arm spinners Basant Regemi (3-14) and Shakti Gauchan (3-9) doing most of the damage. Captain Khadka joined Malla in the sixth over of Nepals innings after two wickets went down in the space of three deliveries on a green-tinged pitch. They stayed together until the 17th over, increasing the run-rate as the partnership progressed before a flurry of late wickets in the pursuit of quick runs, including four from the final four balls, two of which were run outs. Hong Kong seamer Haseep Amjad finished with 3-25. Hong Kongs run chase started with opener Irfan Ahmed edging the first delivery of Khadkas opening over through to wicketkeeper Subash Khakurel. Skipper Jamie Atkinson followed in the second over from Sompal Kami before Waqas Barkat (18), Babar Hayat (20) and Mark Chapman (13) averted complete collapse. But spin duo Regemi and Gauchan struck twice each in the space of seven balls just after the mid-point of the innings and Hong Kong were all out with three overs remaining, their last seven wickets having gone down for 11 runs. The first six days of the three-week tournament are devoted to reducing eight teams to two, with the respective winners of Group A and B advancing to the second phase. Hosts Bangladesh beat Afghanistan in the tournament opener in Group A, while Group B gets under way on Monday in Sylhet with Ireland v Zimbabwe and Netherlands v United Arab Emirates. The second group stage starts on Friday with India v Pakistan in Dhaka. Meanwhile, Avinash Karn has been ruled out of the World Twenty20 with an injured right knee. He has been replaced by Anil Kumar Mandal in Nepals 15-man squad.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 02:06:20 +0000
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