Nepal Humiliate China, Take Just 11 Balls To Chase Down Target
The ICC World Twenty20 Asia Region Qualifier B has seen some bizarre scorecards and the latest entrant to that list is the match between Nepal and China at Kuala Lumpur. Another low-scoring encounter saw the humiliation of the Chinese cricket team after they were packed off for just 26 runs in 13 overs. To make matters worse for China, Nepal took just 11 balls to chase down the target without losing any wickets. This was China's fifth consecutive defeat in ICC's latest regional qualifier for the next World T20 in 2020.
The massive win gave Nepal their fifth straight victory, putting them joint-top of the points table.
In one of the most one-sided matches, Nepal won the toss and elected to bowl. The decision paid off almost immediately as China lost their first wicket on the last ball of the second over.
Opener Hong Jian Yan scored 11 -- the only Chinese batsman to reach double figures in the match -- as China reached 21 for one in 6 overs.
But all hell broke loose after the powerplay. China lost their next five wickets without scoring even a single run and that meant from 21/1 they found themselves staring down the barrel at 21 for six in 9 overs.
Middle-order batsman Dengzhi Ma scored 5 as China moved to 26 but that would be the last run scored by the team as they lost their final three wickets without adding to the total.
The dismal performance saw seven Chinese batsmen make ducks.
Delhi Daredevils spinner Sandeep Lamichhane ended the match with figures of three wickets for four runs in his full quota of overs. The 18-year-old sits atop the wicket-taking charts in the tournaments with 20 scalps to his name in five matches at an average of 2.05.
In reply, Binod Bhandari and Pradeep Singh Airee made sure their team didn't suffer any setbacks. Bhandari smacked three fours and a six to score 24 off just 8 balls as Nepal reached the target in just 1.5 overs.
Courtesy: ndtv.com
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
