ICC World Cup T20: Nepal lose both their official warm-up matches

Nepal Skipper Parash Khadka in action against Ireland

Nepal lost both its official warm-up matches of the ICC World T20 at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

On Wednesday, Nepal lost its first warm-up match against Ireland by 5 wickets after being put in to bat first. Nepal posted a moderate 138 runs losing seven wickets in 20 overs. Ireland achieved the target with five wickets and five balls to spare. Vice-captain Gyanendra Malla top scored for Nepal with 47 runs off 35 balls, while skipper Paras Khadka scored 31 off 27.

In its second official warm-up match, Nepal lost to the United Arab Emirates by 6 wickets after having managed to post 95 runs in 20 overs. Subash Khakurel scored 28, while Khadka scored 27 runs. UAE achieved the target in 18.5 overs, losing only 4 wickets in the process.

ICC World T20 is the biggest cricket tournament that the country has ever qualified for. Nepal is pitted against Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in Group A of the qualifiers. Only the top team from the group will advance to the next round of the tournament.

Nepal will play against Hong Kong on Sunday, the opening day of the tournament, Bangladesh on Tuesday and Afghanistan on Thursday.