Singapore T20I Tri-Nation series 2019, Zimbabwe vs Nepal, 1st Match: Review – Ryan Burl and Mutumbami take Zimbabwe home in the opener

The Instarem tri-series in Singapore kicked off with the game between Zimbabwe and Nepal. In what seemed to be a one-sided contest, Zimbabwe comfortably got over the line to register a 5-wicket win. Nepal hardly played to their full potential and looked rusty in this opening fixture. After winning the toss at the Indian Association Ground, Nepal skipper Paras Khadka opted to bat first in this game.

However, the team didn’t get to the best of starts. Only 30 runs were scored in the batting powerplay. Moreover, they lost the wicket of opener Ishan Pandey for just 4 runs. Immediately after the fielding restrictions were lifted, the batting team further lost a couple more wickets in quick successions. Aarif Sheik first dollied one straight back to the bowler after scoring 8. In the next over, Khadka was dismissed for 18. In this pressure situation, Dipendra Singh came to the rescue.

He tried to shift gears, yet take only calculated risks. After mustering 40 off 33 deliveries, he was dismissed. Even though it seemed as if Nepal wouldn’t head towards a decent score, Sompal Kami provided the final impetus. He smashed three sixes towards the end. His 14-ball 25 helped the side get to 132/6 in 20 overs. Sundeep Jora and Binod Bhandari also made valuable contributions of 17 and 11 runs respectively.

Nepal bowlers leak runs in the form of extras

While they had a clear opportunity to dominate the opposition, Nepal bowlers failed to press the pedal at the right time. They got off to a dream start with the ball. The likes of Regis Chakabva and skipper Sean Williams were dismissed for golden ducks by Sandeep Lamichhane. Moreover, he also got the number of Tinotenda Mutombodzi who was dismissed for a 4-ball duck. To make things worse, Brian Chari got run out for 19.

At 37/4 within the first powerplay, Zimbabwe was already limping. However, just then, Nepal let the foot off the gas. Ryan Burl and Richmond Mutumbami took over the proceedings and dominated the opposition. A total of 21 extras were conceded which further made things worse. While Burl remained unbeaten on 41 off 36 balls, Mutumbami raced his way to 40 off 28 runs. Thus, Zimbabwe registered a 5-wicket win and made early inroads in the series.

Brief Scores:

Nepal: 132/6 in 20 overs (Dipendra Singh 40, Sompal Kami 25*, Sean Williams 2/19)

Zimbabwe: 133/5 in 18.1 overs (Ryan Burl 41*, Richmond Mutumbami 40*, Sandeep Lamichhane 3/15)

Result: Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets.