Kathmandu, August 18
Nepal made an emphatic start to their preparations for the upcoming ACC Premier Cup, defeating Karnataka by 116 runs in their first practice match in India.
Batting first after winning the toss, Nepal were bowled out for 188 runs in 45 overs.
Aasif Sheikh top-scored for Nepal with 49 runs from 70 balls, hitting two fours and a six. Opener Dev Khanal contributed 27 off 43 balls with five fours, while Ishan Pandey scored 34 off 49 balls, hitting three fours.
Sundeep Jora added 27 off 37 balls with two fours, while Bashir Ahmed remained unbeaten on 19 from 27 balls.
Gulshan Jha scored 11 off 16 balls, while Rohit Paudel made four runs. Karan KC was dismissed without scoring, while captain Sandeep Lamichhane and Sher Malla scored two and one run respectively.
Nepal suffered an early setback when Arjun Kumal was dismissed for a duck after facing four balls. However, Aasif, Dev and Ishan steadied the innings and helped Nepal build a competitive total.
Karnataka’s Keerthi M was the standout bowler, taking five wickets for 20 runs from eight overs. Aditya Goel, Aravind Kumar Rai, Chirant Shivrudra, Sagar Gautam and Samarth Srinivas took one wicket each.
Karnataka collapse for 72
Chasing 189, Karnataka struggled against Nepal’s bowling attack and were bowled out for just 72 runs in 28 overs.
Sharath Srinivas was Karnataka’s top scorer with 32 runs from 65 balls, including three fours. Revanth Bairy scored 10, while Santosh Singh contributed nine.
The rest of Karnataka’s batting line-up failed to make an impact, with Lochan Gowda scoring two, Tushar Singh and Samarth Srinivas dismissed without scoring, and Sanjay Ashwin making one.
Ritesh Bhatkal scored six, Sagar Gautam was dismissed for a duck, Keerthi M made three and Aditya Goel scored six.
For Nepal, Karan KC led the bowling attack, taking two wickets for just nine runs in five overs.
Lalit Rajbanshi, Sher Malla and Bashir Ahmed also took two wickets each, while Sandeep Lamichhane claimed one.
The comprehensive victory gives Nepal a strong start to their warm-up campaign as they continue preparations for the ACC Premier Cup.
