Nepal had a sour start in the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup for the Blind going down to Australia by 10 wickets in Delhi Dwarka on Tuesday.

Electing to bat first, Nepal reached a below-par total of 143-8 in 20 overs against a strong Australian side who reached the target in just 12.4 overs replying with 145 for none. 

Openers Stephen Leo Palmer and Matthew James Cameron did all the job with the bat for Australia with an unbeaten century partnership. Cameron top scored in the match with a 43-ball 68 hitting five boundaries, while Palmer made 48 off 39 with his knock consisting of two hits to the fence. 

Earlier, Nepal had a poor start when half of the team was back to the pavilion even before the team had reached 50 runs. Openers Padam Bahadur Badela (two), Lok Bahadur Thapa (one), Abdul Jahid Fakir (two), Sunil Rana Magar (five) and Sunil Thapa Magar (12) were out cheaply. Sunil Subedi Chhetri and Ramesh Bahadur Baniya 

then pushed the team towards triple figures with a 42-run partnership for the sixth wicket. 

Baniya made 18 off 16 and his dismissal resumed Nepal’s collapse as they were reduced to 91-8 in 13.3 overs. Along skipper Kritan Shrestha Duwal, Chhetri went on to share another 51-run stand for the ninth wicket to help 

the team put some respectable total. 

Chhetri was unbeaten on 34 off 26 without hitting a boundary, while Duwal played with some aggression making 29 not out off 20 balls with three boundaries. Nepal’s innings was also bolstered by 38 extra runs. Raymond Moxly and Mark Ashik Haskett picked up two wickets each for Australia.

Nepal, who are making their second appearance in the tournament, will next play Bangladesh at the Delhi Saket grounds on Thursday. The only non-Test playing team of the tournament Nepal will also meet India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and South Africa in the tournament.