Nepal captain Rohit Paudel scored his first T20 century as Nepal registered a four-wicket victory over West Indies-A in the inaugural match of their first T20 series at the TU Cricket Ground in Kiripur on Saturday.
The visitors, who were sent to bat first, set a 205-run target in the stipulated 20 overs on the back of a half-century by West Indies-A captain Roston Chase.
In reply, Paudel smashed a massive 54-ball 112 to help the Rhinos amass 206 runs to overcome the target in 19.4 overs.
Earlier, Nepal’s Kamal Singh Airee gave the hosts a pleasant start after removing opener Johnson Charles for a duck in the final ball of the first over.
Wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher was next to go after being run out for a 5-ball 13 in 3.3 overs.
Charles’ opening partner Alick Athanaze held on as he smashed five hits to the fences and three sixes to score 47 off 25 balls on the scoreboard. Athanaze was caught by Lalit Rajbanshi off Paudel in 6.5 overs.
The visitors were 3-86 before captain Chase cracked a half-century, putting 74 runs, including nine boundaries and two sixes, on the scoreboard. He also built two half-century partnerships with Keacy Carty (38) and Kadeem Alleyne for the fourth and fifth wicket respectively before being caught by Kushal Malla off Dipendra Singh Airee in 19.4 overs.
Chasing 205, Nepal initially stumbled, losing openers Anil Sah (5) and Kushal Bhurtel (16) cheaply.
Captain Paudel put his best leg forward as he fired 10 hits to the fences and six maximums to score his first T20 century. In the process, he also built a half-century stand with Dipendra Singh Airee, who contributed 24 runs facing 18 deliveries.
Nepal were in need of nine runs in the final over when Gulsan Jha (9) fired two hits to the boundaries to seize victory for the Rhinos.
The second of the five-match bilateral series is scheduled for Sunday.
(kathmandupost)
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