Bhurtel, Airee fire as Nepal snap 12-year winless run in T20WC, beat Scotland by 7 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Kushal Bhurtel’s early fireworks and Dipendra Singh Airee’s unbeaten fifty helped Nepal end their 12-year-long winless run in T20 World Cup with a seven-wicket triumph against Scotland in an inconsequential Group C match here on Tuesday.
Nepal had gone winless since 2014 when they beat Afghanistan and the Netherlands on T20 World Cup debut, but the Rhinos signed off from this edition with a memorable victory in front of more than 19,000 fans at the Wankhede Stadium here.
Chasing 171, Nepal responded with 171/3 in 19.2 overs with Airee’s quickfire 50 not out off 23 balls, with three sixes and four fours, being the highlight of their spirited chase along with Bhurtel's (43) inspired start.
Gulsan Jha (24 not out) also chipped in with two towering sixes at a crucial juncture, putting on an unbeaten 73-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Earlier, Bhurtel had a narrow escape when Brad Currie dropped a return catch and the Nepal opener rubbed salt on the wound with a huge six over long-on in the second over.
With their batters being under pressure, Nepal made a rather cautious start but took charge once their eye was in.
Aasif Sheikh (33) opened up with a six over fine leg in the fourth over, and in the next, Bhurtel clattered two sixes and a four off Mark Watt. As many as 23 runs came off Watt as Aasif finished with another powerful hit over square leg.
However, Nepal couldn’t sustain the momentum of raking in big runs as following overs from Scottish spinners saw the pressure building on the batters, resulting in a few wickets.
Bhurtel mishit a sweep off Michael Leask (3/30) and was caught at midwicket for a sparkling 43 off 35 balls with four sixes and a four. Soon after, Aasif went back in the hut when a thick edge off his bat was collected by Brad Wheal at short third off Leask.
Leask appeared to be all over Nepal when he had their skipper Rohit Paudel (16) caught by backward square leg in the 14th over. But in his final over, Airee hammered two on-side sixes and a four to collect 20 runs off the 16th.
Jha completed the formalities with a four off the 20th over, as Nepal won with four balls to spare.
Earlier, Michael Jones’ brisk 71 steered Scotland to a competitive 170 for 7.
Both the teams were out of reckoning for the Super Eights with the West Indies and England advancing to the next round from the group.
Barring Jones, who struck eight fours and three sixes in his 45-ball knock, Scottish batters failed to convert their starts but still managed to finish at a competitive total on a flat deck here.
It was Jones who did the heavy-lifting in his 80-run stand for the opening wicket with George Munsey, who failed to get any momentum despite staying in the middle till the halfway mark of Scotland’s innings.
While the right-handed Jones pierced gaps comfortably and met the ball with the sweet part of his bat to get boundaries at regular intervals, all that Munsey could do was play a second fiddle while managing 27 runs off 29 balls with four boundaries.
Munsey’s frustration of not being able to get a move-on was apparent when he fell on the final ball of the 10th over, connecting with an innocuous full toss from Paudel with the toe end of the bat. The Scottish opener smacked his bat in frustration when Sundeep Jora completed a fine diving catch in front of him at long-on.
But Jora and Nepal appeared to have claimed a skier when McMullen hit one off Nandan Yadav on the first ball of the 14th over.
Positioned at mid-on, Jora did not have to move more than five paces but to his credit, he kept his eyes on the ball. When the ball eventually did come back to him, Jora didn’t realise that it went through his hands and hit the turf while he fell on the ground in the process.
Jones continued to unleash his big hits and smacked a 94m hit straight into the balcony of his dressing room with the ball settling into the hands of his teammate Tom Bruce.
However, Jones’ innings ended soon after when Sompal Kami (3/25), coming round the wicket in the 16th over, cleaned up the Scotland opener and took a brilliant one-handed grab to take a return catch off McMullen.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
