Two Nepali players, Sandeep Lamichhane and Dipendra Airee, played their first match in the ongoing Global T20 Canada League in Canada and delivered outstanding performances.
In last night’s match, Montreal Tigers defeated Surrey Jaguars by 5 wickets, reaching Surrey’s target of 137 runs in 18.3 overs while losing 5 wickets.
Chasing the target, Dipendra Airee, who batted at number six, scored 28 runs in 22 balls with the help of 2 fours. During the innings, Airee shared a crucial 53-run partnership with Dilpreet Singh for the fifth wicket. Dipendra hit one four off Mathew Ford in the fifteenth over and one four off Iftikhar Ahmed in the sixteenth over.
On the third ball of the seventeenth over, Dipendra was dismissed lbw by Sandeep Lamichhane. Sandeep didn’t celebrate after taking Dipendra’s wicket.
Sandeep also took Bangladesh’s star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan back to the pavilion in the seventh over of the innings as the first wicket. Shakib had looked threatening, scoring 26 runs off a mere 13 balls, showcasing his prowess with 4 fours and 1 six, fell victim to Sandeep’s excellent spell, caught at short cover.
Sandeep bowled remarkably well, taking 2 wickets for just 17 runs in 4 overs. He started bowling in the seventh over and took 1 wicket while conceding only 2 runs in the first over.Then, in the ninth over, he gave away 6 runs, 6 runs in the fourteenth over, and in the seventeenth over, he gave away 3 runs, taking 1 wicket.
Sandeep’s impressive performance earned him the ‘Moment of the Day’ award, for which he received a prize of 500 dollars.
In the league, Surrey’s next match will be against the Brampton Wolves on July 24th at 1:15 am, and Montreal will play against the Mississauga Panthers tomorrow on July 23rd at 8:45 pm.
