Nepal announces Rs 5 crores for its national cricket team's T20 WC preparation

The PMO Nepal took to their official X (formerly Twitter) account to announce the news of the allocation of money for the Nepal Cricket Association.

"The Government of Nepal has provided five crore rupees to the Nepal Cricket Association @CricketNep for the preparation of the Nepali national cricket team that will participate in the T20 World Cup @T20WorldCup to be held in the United States and the West Indies from 1 to 29 June 2024," PMO Nepal wrote on X.

https://x.com/PM_nepal_/status/1765373135187296756?s=20

The 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup, which will take place from 1 to 29 June, will be the largest-ever ICC event with 55 matches to be played across nine cities - three in the USA and six in the West Indies.

Earlier in the final match of the tri-nation series, Nepal conceded a four-wicket loss against the Netherlands at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground.

Recapping the match, in the powerplay, both batters decided to deal in boundaries to keep the Netherlands on track during 185.

The Netherlands were flying high after putting up 60 runs in the powerplay at a stunning run rate of 10.00.

Nepal managed to bounce back in the 9th over, with left-arm spinner Kushal Malla removing both batters in a span of five deliveries.

Max (22) was the first to depart and four balls later Levitt followed in his footsteps with a quick-fire knock of 54 off 29 deliveries. Vikramjit Singh came in, struck three sixes and got dismissed after scoring 29.

Sybrand Engelbrecht held on to his wicket and played with caution as well as aggression to take the Netherlands close to victory.

With 40 runs needed in the final three overs, Engelbrecht struck two fours and two maximums on four consecutive deliveries in the 18th over to take the game away from Nepal.

Kushal tried to repair damage caused by Abinash Bohara's over and once again brought Nepal back into the fray with his magical left-arm spin. He dismissed Engelbrecht for 48(29).

Kushal's four-wicket haul went in vain as Timm van der Gugten stayed till the end to ensure Netherlands crossed the finishing line with three balls to spare. Earlier in the innings, after winning the toss and deciding to bat, Rohit Paudel-led team produced a clinical outing with the bat to post a competitive total of 184/8 on the board.

Aasif Sheikh (47), Gulsan Jha (34), Kushal Malla (26) and skipper Paudel (25) summed up Nepal's strong outing with the bat. Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards had seven bowling options to rely and four of them leaked runs at an economy of more than nine.

Fred Klaassen, Timm van der Gugten, Michael Levitt and Sybrand Engelbrecht claimed two wickets each to restrict Nepal before they could cross the 200-run mark. (ANI)