Nepal put on a fighting performance with the bat but still went down by 116 runs against Zimbabwe in their ICC World Cup Qualifiers match on Sunday.

Nepal, throughout their inning, never looked like to match the batting performance Zimbabwe displayed earlier but, comparing their fragile batting performance in the recently concluded Division II tournament, exceeded expectations with the bat.

Sharad Bheswakar (52) and Aarif Sheikh (50) both scored half-centuries while skipper Paras Khadka (40) put on a notable performance as Nepal finished with 264/8 runs from their 50 overs.

Earlier, losing the toss and fielding first, Nepali bowlers were brutally smashed all over the ground as they offered little resistance against the batting of the test-playing side. Zimbabwe went on to post the highest total scored by any teams against Nepal in the 50-over game.

Sikandar Raza (123) and Brendan Taylor (100) both scored centuries while Soloman Mire (52) reached a half-century as the hosts trounced Nepali bowlers on their way to 380/6 at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

Sompal Kami was the most-expensive among the bowlers and made an unwanted record of conceding most runs by a Nepali bowler in 50-over match when he gave away 82 runs from his eight overs. He took two wickets towards the end but could not limit the damage that was already done.

Basanta Regmi and debutant Lalit Rajbanshi completed 10 overs of bowling giving 69 and 62 runs respectively. Sandip Lamichhane was hit for 64 runs from his nine overs.

Only the top sides from two groups will secure berths to the World Cup. But the prize Nepal will likely be contesting is finishing inside the top-three Associate teams which will give them one-day international status for the next three years.  Also on the offer will be a four-day Inter-Continental Cup (ICup) and World Cricket League Championship (WCLC) which will be played between the elites of non-Test playing teams.