Kathmandu, September 25
In the men’s cricket competition at the 20th Asian Games underway in Japan, Nepal has defeated Afghanistan.
Nepal beat Afghanistan by 5 wickets in the match played at Korogi Sports Park in Nishin, Aichi, Japan.
Nepal chased down Afghanistan’s target of 103 runs, reaching it in 17.2 overs for the loss of 5 wickets.
Sundeep Jora top-scored for Nepal with 34 runs, while Rohit Paudel finished unbeaten on 33 and Dipendra Singh Airee added 15.
Batting first after winning the toss, Afghanistan scored 102 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs. Faisal Khan top-scored for Afghanistan with 33 runs, followed by Najibullah Zadran with 30 and Nangeyalia Kharote with 17.
For Nepal, Kushal Bhurtel took 4 wickets and Lalit Rajbanshi took 3.
Nepal is in Group A alongside Afghanistan and Japan. Afghanistan had already beaten Japan in Thursday’s opening match of the group.
Nepal will next play Japan on Saturday. The top 2 teams from the group will advance to the quarterfinals, where Nepal will face either India or Sri Lanka.
Nepal had also lost to India in the quarterfinals at the previous Asian Games.
