Young middle order batsman Aarif Sheikh scored almost half of the team’s total run as Nepal began their preparation tour of Sri Lanka with a 67-run victory over Army Cricket Team in Panagoda, Colombo on Wednesday.

Electing to bat first, Madushan Fernando wreaked havoc in the top order but Sheikh held the innings with lower middle and lower order batsmen lifting Nepal to 194 all out in 48.4 overs. Sheikh, who was the last man dismissed, made 89 from 118 balls with five boundaries and four sixes. The local side, in reply, were bundled out for just 127 in 36.1 overs after Sompal Kami and Basanta Regmi took two wickets each.

Kami took the first three wickets to reduced Army to 35-3 in seven overs. Another seamer Lalit Singh Bhandari joined the act with the scalp of their second top scorer Lahiri Chamara (26) before spinners took control of the game. Basanta returned the figures of 3-20 from 7.1 overs, while Dipendra Singh Airee took 2-8 from five overs.

Jagath Rajapaksha top scored for Army with a 60-ball 46 hitting four boundaries and a six before falling prey to Regmi. Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi also had one scalp for Nepal.

Nepal had chosen keep out skipper Paras Khadka along with Sagar Pun and Karan KC and they got a modest start before Fernando picked up quick wickets of opener Subash Khakurel (10), Anil Sah (duck) followed by the dismissal of Gyanendra Malla in his next over. Airee also went for a duck as Nepal’s scores read 36-4 in 9.2 overs.

Gyanendra made 21 from 26 balls with two boundaries. Rohit Kumar Paudel (12) was next to go as Nepal were reeling at 57-5 by the 14th over. Sheikh and Binod Bhandari (16) shared 34 runs for the sixth wicket taking the team close to triple figures. But Rajpaksha removed Bhandari and new man Kami (naught) in a single over reducing Nepal to 91-7.

Basanta Regmi (16) offered a brief resistance but his departure reduced Nepal to 120-8 in 33.2 overs. But Sheikh resurrected the Nepali innings with a crucial 52-run partnership for the ninth wicket Lalit Singh Bhandari (11) guiding Nepal to what ultimately was a winning total.

Nepal, who are preparing for the ACC Asia Cup Qualifier scheduled for August 29 to September 6 in Malaysia, will next play Colts Cricket Club on Friday. They will wrap up the preparation tour with the match against Bloomfield on August 26 before leaving for Malaysia a day later.

Nepal will play the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, Oman and Hong Kong in the Qualifier which will send the champions into Group ‘A’ of next month’s Asia Cup that includes sub-continent archrivals India and Pakistan. Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are in Group ‘B’ of the Asia Cup which will be hosted by the UAE from September 15-28.

Summary

Nepal 194 all out in 48.4 overs (A Sheikh 89, G Malla 21; M Fernando 3-34, J Rajapaksha 2-20) beat Army Cricket Team 127 all out in 36.1 overs (J Rajapaksha 46, L Chamara 26; B Regmi 3-20, S Kami 3-31) by 67 runs