Singapore T20I Tri-Series, Singapore vs Nepal, 2nd T20I Preview: Onus on Paras Khadka as Nepal aim for their first win of the series

Nepal will hope that their top-order comes to the party against Singapore.

Published - 27 Sept 2019, 21:48 IST | Updated - 27 Sept 2019, 21:48 IST

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The caravan of the Singapore T20I series rolls on, and on Saturday, we’ll have our first look at the hosts: Singapore. The hosts will lock horns with Nepal in the 2nd T20I at the Indian Association Ground. Nepal will be hoping to shrug off the ignominy of defeat that they suffered at the hands of Zimbabwe in the tournament opener on Friday. Nepal had the game in their pocket and then they didn’t. Batting first, valuable contributions from the lower-order and a 33-ball 40 from Dipendra Singh Airee, propelled Nepal to a defendable total of 6-132.

And, it looked like it would prove to be more than enough when Sandeep Lamichhane wrecked through Zimbabwe’s top-order, reducing them to 5-64 at the half-way stage. But, once again Zimbabwe’s lower-order- spearheaded by Ricky Burl (41*) and Richmond Mutumbami (40*)- came to their rescue, taking their side home in 18.1 overs.

Nepal will look to shrug off the ignominy but the task isn’t that straight forward. The last time they squared off against Singapore, Khadka’s men were handed a solid 82-run drubbing in the finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Region Cup.

Team Combination:

Nepal

Nepal will hope that their top-order comes to the party against Singapore. And, Paras Khadka is at the heart of it. The skipper will open the innings with Ishan Pandey and the onus will be on him to set the tone from the top.

As we saw in the previous game, Nepal does have a decent middle and lower order. The likes of Dipendra Singh Airee (40), Sundeep Jora (17) and Sompal Kami (25) were the cornerstones in their side getting to a competitive total and if their top-order can chip-in, it could pave the way for their comeback.

The bowling unit will, as usual, be spearheaded by Sandeep Lamichhane. Lamichhane claimed three wickets in the last game. Nepal may bring in Rohit Paudel in place of Kushal Malla (0-28), who was taken to the cleaners by Zimbabwe.

Probable XI

Ishan Pandey, Paras Khadka (C), Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Rohit Paudel, Sundeep Jora, Binod Bhandari (wk), Sompal Kami, KC Karan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Abinash Bohara

Singapore

The last time these two sides met, Rohan Rangarajan (49), Tim David (77) and Manpreet Singh (42) were the cornerstones in Singapore getting to an eventual match-winning total of 6-191. They will once again be the pivot around which the fulcrum of their batting will revolve.

The bowling department will be led by Janak Prakash, Vinoth Baskaran, and off-spinner Selladore Vijayakumar.

Probable XI

Rohan Rangarajan, Surendran Chandramohan, Tim David, Manpreet Singh (wk), Navin Param, Arjun Mutreja, Janak Prakash, Anantha Krishna, Vinoth Baskaran, Amjad Mahboob (C), Selladore Vijayakumar

The focus will be on

Paras Khadka (Nepal): The biggest reason for Nepal’s defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe was the failure of their top-order. And, Khadka’s rare failure was at the heart of it. With his team under pressure and in need of a win, the onus will be on the skipper to lead from the front with the bat.

Tim David (Singapore): 165 runs in 7 T20s at an average of 41.2 and a strike-rate of 152.8; 129 runs in 3 T20Is at an average of 43.0 and a strike-rate of 161.2; 77 off 43 balls with eight fours and three sixes against Nepal in the last encounter. Need I say more? Tim David will be the player to watch out tomorrow.