The Nepal national cricket team will lock horns with Qatar in their second Group A match of the ongoing ACC Men’s T20I Premier Cup 2024 at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) on Saturday, April 13. The Nepal vs Qatar match will start at 4:00 PM IST.
Nepal are currently ranked 17th in the ICC men’s T20I team rankings while Qatar are placed 28th.
Led by captain Rohit Paudel, Nepal started their ACC Men’s T20I Premier Cup 2024 campaign with a comprehensive five-wicket win over Malaysia at the same venue on Friday.
Chasing 144, Nepal rode on contributions from wicketkeeper-batter Aasif Sheikh (32), Rohit Paudel (28), Kushal Bhurtel (24), Dipendra Singh Airee (20) and Gulsan Jha (19 not out) to chase down the target in 19.2 overs.
Earlier, Dipendra Singh bagged two wickets to help Nepal restrict Malaysia to 143/3 in their 20 overs.
With two points on the board, Nepal are currently placed second in Group A standings, only behind Hong Kong on net run-rate.
On the other hand, the Qatar national cricket team will aim to bounce back after suffering a 26-run defeat against Hong Kong in the ongoing T20 tournament.
Electing to bat first, twin fifties from captain Nizakhat Khan (59) and Babar Hayat (55) propelled Hong Kong to 201/7 in their allotted overs.
In reply, Qatar gave a strong fight but fell short by 26 runs in their Group A clash at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 2) on Friday.
With the loss, Qatar are currently languishing at the bottom of the Group A standings.
As per the format, the top two teams from each group will advance to the ACC Men’s T20I Premier Cup 2024 semi-finals.
The winner of the second edition of the ACC Men’s T20I Premier Cup will qualify for Asia Cup 2025.
Nepal won the inaugural edition of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup after beating United Arab Emirates by seven wickets in the 2023 final.
Nepal vs Qatar T20 head-to-head
Qatar beat Nepal by four wickets in their solitary meeting in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Region Final in Singapore in July 2019.
Nepal vs Qatar ACC Men’s T20I Premier Cup 2024 squads
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (captain), Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Sundeep Jora, Aasif Sheikh (wicketkeeper), Anil Shah (wicketkeeper), Binod Bhandari (wicketkeeper), Bibek Yadav, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sompal Kami, Akash Chandra, Abhinash Bohara, Gulsan Jha, KC Karan, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratish GC, Sagar Dhakal
Qatar: Muhammad Tanveer (captain), Kamran Khan, Mohammad Ahnaff, Rifayi Hassainar, Saqlain Arshad, Shahzaib Ahmed, Adnan Mirza, Amir Farooq, Mohammed Irshad, Gayan Buddika, Himanshu Rathod, Muhammad Jabir, Musawar Shah, Muhammad Ikramullah
Where to watch Nepal vs Qatar ACC Men’s T20I Premier Cup 2024 live in India
Live streaming of the Nepal vs Qatar ACC Men’s T20I Premier Cup 2024 match will be available on the FanCode app and website in India.
There will be no live telecast of the upcoming T20 match on any TV channel in India.
Photo credit: Alamy