Nepal have beaten Hong Kong by 80 runs in their first match at the ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Man of the match Shakti Gauchan took three wickets for Nepal.
After being put to bat first on a green pitch, Nepal started strongly, scoring 36 in 28 balls.
But openers Subash Khakurel and Sagar Pun fell in the space of four balls and it wasn't until captain Paras Khadka and Gyanendra Malla put 80 for the third-wicket to steady Nepal.
Malla played second fiddle while Khadka went for the boundaries and made 39 before he was caught at mid-off. Malla then picked up the pace and scored 48.
But just as Nepal looked poised to cross 150, they lost momentum and gave away four wickets in the last four balls of their innings.
Once Nepal took the field, Khadka dismissed Hong Kong's opener Irfan Ahmed with the very first ball. Hong Kong never recovered. Baba Hayat and Waqas Barkat provided some resistance with 20 and 18 runs, but Nepal's spinners kept taking wickets at regular intervals.
On a pitch made for seamers, it was the slow bowlers who starred for Nepal. Spinners Basant Regmi and Shakti Gauchan each took three wickets, while seamer Sompal Kami took two. At the end of Hong Kong's 17th over, Jeetendra Mukhiya bowled out tail-ender Nadeem Ahmed and Nepal registered an impressive victory in a tie between two evenly matched teams.
Nepal will next play hosts Bangladesh, who beat Afghanistan by nine wickets in the day's earlier match, on Tuesday.
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