Himal Press 
Kushal Bhurtel raises his bat after hitting his sixth T20I half century to shape Nepal's chase. Photo: CAN
KATHMANDU: Nepal kicked off its ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier Final campaign with an impressive eight-wicket victory over Singapore at the TU International Cricket Ground on Monday.
Batting first after winning the toss, Singapore managed to score 145 runs for the loss of nine wickets in its allotted 20 overs. Nepal chased down the target, losing just two wickets with 21 balls to spare, thanks to a blazing half-century from opener Kushal Bhurtel.
Although Singapore lost its captain, Aritra Dutta, without a run on the board, the second-wicket partnership of Rohan Rangarajan and Surendran Chandramohan added 52 runs for the visitors. Rangarajan led Singapore’s scoring with a brisk 30-ball 46, while Aryaveer Chaudhary contributed 37 runs, and Manpreet Singh scored 24. Akashya Puri remained unbeaten at 13 runs. The rest of the Singaporean batters failed to reach double digits.
Abinash Bohara claimed three wickets for Nepal, while Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, and Gulsan Jha each picked up two wickets.
Chasing 146 runs for victory, the Nepali opening pair of Kushal Bhurtel and Aaasif Sheikh gave a solid start for Nepal, amassing 84 runs in just 9.1 overs. Bhurtel, in particular, shone brightly as he got his sixth T20I half-century, scoring 74 runs from 48 balls, which included eight boundaries and two sixes. Aaasif Sheikh contributed 27 runs, and Captain Rohit Paudel remained unbeaten with 35 runs off 24 balls. Kushal Malla chipped in with six runs to guide Nepal past Singapore’s target.
Ananta Krishna and Akshya Puri took a wicket each for Singapore.
Nepal will face Malaysia in its next match at the TU International Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
