Kathmandu [Nepal], March 1 : With a victory over Namibia by three runs in the ongoing Tri-Nation T20I Series, hope for Nepal to reach the final of the tournament has remained alive.
The Rhinos, on Friday, losing the toss batted first accumulating 180 runs on the back of an unbeaten half-century by Kushal Malla at a loss of eight wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.
The visitors were then bundled out for 177 runs in the game held at TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, in the capital Kathmandu.
Nepali players were able to dismiss Namibian openers Malan Kruger and Michael Van Lingen for 3 and 10 runs, respectively. Gulshan Jha in 1.3 overs stumped out Kruger, while Karan KC bowled out Lingen in 5.3 overs.
John-Pierre Kotze managed to smash four boundaries, accumulating a 22-ball 25 while Jan Frylinck posted 37 runs off 29 deliveries. Aasif Sheikh caught Kotze, while Frylnck was dismissed by Abinash Bohara.
The captain of the Namibian team, JJ Smith, however, scored 50 runs, including six hits to the fences and two maximums in his 26-knock play, before being caught by Anil Sah in 15.1 overs.
For Nepal, Sompal Kami and Dipendra Singh Airee grabbed two wickets each, while Karan KC and Abinash Bohara also managed to dismiss one Namibian batter each.
The Rhinos, in first inning, lost Aasif Sheikh by one run in the very first over, while captain Rohit Paudel, who walked to the pitch third to bat, also returned to the bench after making 10 runs. Paudel was caught by Johannes Jonathan Smit off a delivery by Jack Brassell in 3.4 overs.