Kathmandu, April 10
Nepal clinched a record victory over Kuwait to secure their second consecutive win in the ongoing four-nation T20I series in Hong Kong. In Thursday’s match, Nepal defeated Kuwait by six wickets.
Chasing a target of 186 runs, Nepal reached the total with seven balls to spare, losing just four wickets. This chase marks Nepal’s highest successful run chase in T20 Internationals, surpassing their previous record of chasing 166 runs against Malaysia.
Opener Kushal Bhurtel led the way with a stellar 81 runs, while Aasif Sheikh contributed 53 runs. Together, they put on a 127-run opening partnership, laying a solid foundation for Nepal’s historic win. This partnership is now the highest opening stand for Nepal in T20Is, breaking their previous record of 116 runs set against the Netherlands in 2021.
Dipendra Singh Airee added the finishing touch with a quickfire 31 off just 12 balls. For Kuwait, Yasin Patel claimed 2 wickets for 17 runs in 4 overs, while Mohammad Sadiq and Mohammad Aslam took one wicket each.
Earlier, Kuwait posted a competitive 185 for 7 after being invited to bat first. Clinto Anto top-scored with 41 runs, followed by Meet Bhavsar with 35, Bilal Tahir with 32, and Ravija Sandaruwan with 26. Despite a strong start with 97 runs inside the first 10 overs, Kuwait could not reach the 200-run mark due to regular fall of wickets in the latter half.
For Nepal, Sompal Kami took 3 wickets, Nandan Yadav picked up 2, while Lalit Rajbanshi and Kushal Bhurtel claimed one each.
With this back-to-back victory, Nepal has strengthened its chances of reaching the final in the series featuring Hong Kong, Nepal, Qatar, and Kuwait. On Wednesday, Nepal had defeated Qatar while Kuwait had triumphed over hosts Hong Kong.
