An important sporting event took place as part of the Asian Games 2026. On Friday at the Korogi Sports Park in Nishin city, Nepal defeated Afghanistan by 5 wickets in a group one match.
Afghanistan started the game by batting first and scored 102 runs, losing 7 wickets in 20 overs. In response, Nepal managed to score 103 runs, losing only 5 wickets in 17.2 overs, thereby winning the match.
This match was significant because Nepal won against Afghanistan in the second of the two T20 matches played between them, meaning Nepal has a 100% winning record against Afghanistan in the T20 format. However, Afghanistan managed to beat Nepal in three T10 matches.
While chasing the target of 103 runs, Nepal's start was not the most successful. At one point, the team's score was 56 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Kushal Bhurtal was dismissed for 0 runs, and the second batsman Asif Sheikh could only score 2 runs. After this, the Nepali team's score dropped by 12 runs upon the loss of the second wicket. Kushal Malla also managed to add 9 runs.
Subsequently, Sandip Jora and Rohit Paudel took over the innings. Sandip Jora scored 34 runs off 35 balls, including 3 fours and 1 six. Rohit Paudel played until the end of the match, scoring 33 runs without being out in 32 overs, which included 4 fours. Dipendra Singh Airee also contributed, scoring 15 runs off 18 overs. In the end, Nepal won the match by 5 wickets, scoring 103 runs in 17.2 overs. Gulshan Ja remained not out, scoring 1 run.
Earlier, Afghanistan, having chosen to bat first after the toss, scored 102/7 in 20 overs. Among the team players, Faisal Shinojada scored 30 runs off 33 balls, including 2 fours and 1 six. Najibullah Zadran added 30 runs off 40 balls. Karim Jannat scored 9 runs, and Mohammad Ishaq scored 7 runs.
In terms of bowling, Kushal Bhurtal took 4 wickets, conceding 21 runs in 4 overs. Lalit Rajbanshi bowled with an economy rate of 3.20, conceding 13 runs in 4 overs, while Sandip Lamichane allowed 18 runs in 4 overs.
