Kathmandu: Nepal made a winning start in the Quadrangular T20I Series, defeating Qatar by eight wickets in the opening match held on Wednesday.
With this victory, Nepal earned two points. They will now face Kuwait in their second match on Thursday. Chasing a target of 152 runs set by Qatar, Nepal reached 154 for the loss of two wickets in 17 overs.
Opener Kushal Bhurtel top-scored for Nepal with 38 runs off 19 balls, hitting four boundaries and three sixes. His opening partner Aasif Sheikh contributed 33 runs off 21 balls, including four fours.
The duo built a solid 81-run partnership for the first wicket, setting a strong foundation for the win. Captain Rohit Kumar Paudel remained unbeaten on 37, while Basir Ahamad also stayed not out on 30.
Qatar’s Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman took both of Nepal’s wickets, conceding just 12 runs in his three-over spell.
Earlier, after losing the toss and being put in to bat first at Mission Road Ground, Qatar posted a total of 151 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Qatar’s captain Ikrmullah Khan was the top scorer with 54 runs off 54 balls, which included five boundaries and two sixes.
Shahzaib Jamil scored 31 runs off 21 balls with four fours before being caught out by Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi. Arumugaganesh Nagarajan was dismissed for 13 runs, while Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman (20*) and Mohammad Irshad (18*) remained unbeaten.
For Nepal, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Gulshan Kumar Jha, and Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi took one wicket each.
Right-arm fast bowler Nandan Yadav made his T20 International debut for Nepal in this match, marking a promising start to his international career.
