Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal defeated Papua New Guinea by 85 runs at the Mission Road Ground in Hong Kong on Tuesday to enter the final of Hong Kong Men’s T20I Series
Invited to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 198 runs, losing six wickets in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to half-centuries by Kushal Bhurtel and Sandeep Jora. Bhurtel then took four wickets to bundle Papua New Guinea out for 113 runs in 16.1 overs.
Nepal’s first match of the series against Hong Kong was washed out by rain.
Nepal scored 64 runs in seven overs for the first wicket. Binod Bhandari fell after scoring 27 runs in 22 balls in 7.1 overs. Rohit Paudel and Aarif Sheikh also fell cheaply. Bhurtel, however, got support from Sandeep Jora on the other end. He scored 59 off 39 balls, while Jora scored a quickfire 56 from 26 balls. Gulshan Jha, Lokesh Bam, and Bibek Yadav scored 15, 14, and 19 runs, respectively.
Assad Vala took two wickets for Papua New Guinea, while Nosaina Pokana, John Kariko, and Norman Vanua each had a wicket to their name.
Papua New Guinea went off to a bright start in the chase as they plundered 32 runs in just three overs. Tony Ura scored 13 runs before he was bowled by Pratish GC. Sese Bau scored 21 off 13 balls while captain Assad Vala scored nine from 11 balls. Papua New Guinea lost wickets at regular intervals after Hiri Hiri fell after scoring 28 off 19 balls and ultimately folded for 113 runs. Only four Papua New Guinea batters reached double digits.
Bhurtel took four wickets for Nepal, while Pratish GC claimed two, and Aakash Chand and Gulshan Jha each had a wicket to their name.
Hong Kong is taking on Papua New Guinea later today in the second league round matches of both teams.
The winning team will enter the final, while the third-placed team after the league round is scheduled to play against Hong Kong ‘A’ team on Wednesday. The final of the series will also be played on Wednesday.
