Sports
Thapa half century lifts Storms, Warriors win
Local boy Bhupendra Thapa struck an unbeaten half century as Nepal Storms defeated Bangladesh Tigers by seven wickets in the Asian Club Premier League (ACPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament on Wednesday.Local boy Bhupendra Thapa struck an unbeaten half century as Nepal Storms defeated Bangladesh Tigers by seven wickets in the Asian Club Premier League (ACPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament on Wednesday.
Batting first, Tigers were skittled out for just 148 runs in 19.1 overs before Storms reached 150-4 in 16.4 overs. Thapa, who was sold for INR 100,000 in the auction was unbeaten on 51 from 37 deliveries. Dishant Yadav also chipped in an invaluable 46 from 35 balls, while Pawan Chandel contributed 23 runs. Pawan Kumar picked up 2-19, while Sanket Sahu was the only other Tigers bowler to have success with the ball.
Earlier, Panchal top scored for Tigers with an 18-ball 30, while Sanjog Binkar (27) and Sagir Ul Hasan (18) were other notable contributors. Malwinder picked up 3-20 for Storms with skipper Haseeb Amjad (2-5) and Yadav (2-24) also taking two wickets each.
In another match, Dubai Warriors brushed aside Sri Lankan Lions by 21 runs. Warriors amassed a tournament-high 189-9 with half centuries from Abdul Shakoor and Dawood Ejaz before Lions were shut down for 168-3 as aggressive knocks from Nishan Samarakkody and Dinesh Nakrani going in vain.
Nakrani made 72 from 41 balls and Samarakkody contributed 63 off 43 before retiring hurt. Sandeep Singh took two wickets for Warriors. Subhanshu Sahu was unbeaten on 17 runs. Warriors had a strong start after their openers Shakoor struck a 31-ball 56 and Ravi Verma made 27-ball 30. Ejaz did the rest smashing a 19-ball 56. Samarakkody and Mohammed Nizamuddin picked up two wickets each.