Nepal men’s national squad made short work of the young Netherlands squad during the opening game of Bajaj Pulsar T20I Tri-nation series at Tribhuvan University ground in Kirtipur. The bowlers set up the game and the opening batsmen took care of the deal in the most emphatic manner possible in front of a lively home crowd, which witnessed live International cricket action after a gap of more than a year.
Whereas in the US, at the Prairie View Cricket Complex, Basant Regmi and Prithu Baskota impressed with their performances for Nepali Rhinos cricket club on the third day of Houston Open T20 tournament in Texas. Nepali Rhinos advanced from their group into the quarterfinals stage of the competition, which will be played on 17th April 2021.
Sompal Kami (1/13 off 4), Sandeep Lamichhane (2/23 off 4) and the support bowlers lived up to their billing, restricting the Dutch for a below-par score of 130+. Quick wickets at the top of the order meant that the likes of Scott Edwards (30), Bas de Leede (41) and Pieter Seelaar (23 n.o) never could accelerate during the middle overs and the final push only came during the last 2-3 overs of their innings.
Aasif Sheikh (54 n.o) and Kushal Bhurtel (62) shared an opening stand of 116 runs, which is now the Nepali record for best opening partnership in T20Is. Skipper Gyanendra Malla also got to face few deliveries near the end of the innings after Bhurtel got out, and played a nice little cameo to take the team home.
At the Houston Open T20 tournament, Basant Regmi is currently the joint-highest wicket-taker in the competition, with 7 wickets from 4 group stage matches. Nepali Rhinos will play the team of Chicago All Stars in the quarterfinals.
