Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal defeated Ireland ‘A’ by 71 runs in the second match of the two-match T20 series at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday.
Batting first, Nepal scored 198 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Chasing 199 to level the series, Ireland ‘A’ folded for 127 runs in 18.3 overs.
Nepal won the first match of the series by six wickets.
Gulsan Jha top-scored for Nepal with a 32-ball 46, while Rohit Poudel scored 33 from 24 balls and Kushal Malla struck a quick-fire 34 off just 13 balls. Opener Kushal Bhurtel scored 25 from 16 balls, while Sandeep Jora, Anil Sah, and Aasif Sheikh contributed 21, 12, and 11 runs, respectively.
Matthew Foster took three wickets for Ireland ‘A’, while Ben White claimed two and Fionn Hand and Gavin Honey contributed with a wicket each.
Ireland ‘A’ added 43 runs for the first wicket in the chase. However, the visitors lost both openers in the space of three balls and never recovered from the setback. Stephen Doheny top-scored for Ireland ‘A’ with a 13-ball 26, while Morgan Topping scored 21, Cade Carmichael struck 18 runs, and Ross Adair and Neil Rock contributed 17 runs each.
Sompal Kami and Kushal Malla each took three wickets for Nepal, while Karan KC, Kushal Bhurtel, and Bibek Yadav each had a wicket to their names.
Nepal will now leave for India to play T20 series with Gujarat and Baroda teams of India, while Ireland ‘A’ will play three T20 and three one-day matches with Nepal ‘A’.
