Nepal 5-141 (Subash Khakurel 56, Sharad Vesawkar 37, Shapoor Zadran 2-19) beat Afghanistan 8-132 (Asghar Stanikzai 45, Shafiqullah 36, Jitendra Mukhiya 3-18, Shakti Gauchan 2-25) by 9 runs.
A fantastic bowling spell from the pacer, Jitendra Mukhiya, assisted by a solid batting from Subash Khakurel guided Nepal to a smooth win vs. Afghanistan.
Nepal powered 141 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs and Afghanistan was restricted to 132 with two wickets left in the required overs.
Jitendra Mukhiya (Nepal) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his excellent bowling spell of 3-18.
The ICC World T20 – 9th match, First Round Group A was played on Thursday, March 20, 2014, at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong.
Earlier, Mohammad Nabi, the skipper of Afghanistan, won the toss and opted to field. Nepal lost their first wicket at 19 as Subash Khakurel and Gyanendra Malla took the score to 51 when the latter was gone for 22. Their captain, Paras Khadka was clean bowled for just one run while Sharad Vesawkar appeared on the scene. The run rate was boosted up by the batsmen whereas Khakurel was the most attacking of the two and smashed his maiden T20 fifty in the 17th over. He became the fouth victim at 129 for 56 off 53 balls with 1 six and 6 fours. Vesawkar scored 37 as Nepal thrashed 5-141 after 20 overs.
Shapoor Zadran was the top wicket taker with two whereas Dawlat Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf and Mohammad Nabi held one each.
Afghanistan had a dreadful beginning as they lost their five top order batsmen at 50 in 8.6 overs. Asghar Stanikzai joined in with the stranded Shafiqullah and they commenced repairing the shattered innings. The duo crept to 83 when the latter went back to the pavilion for 36 and was replaced by Samiullah Shenwari who was caught by Khadka off Jitendra Mukhiya for 15. The first made a late assault but managed to get 49 off 36 comprising 1 six and 4 fours as his team reached 132 after losing eight wicket in 20 overs.
Jitendra Mukhiya was the star performer with three wickets, Sompal Kami and Shakti Gauchan shared two each whereas Basant Regmi chipped in with one wicket.
Nepal triumphed in the interesting encounter with a narrow margin of nine runs and took their tally to four points.
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