Singapore have posted a target of 146 runs against Nepal in the ongoing T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier being held at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Monday.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss, the visitors were off to a bleak start after losing captain and opener Aritra Dutta for a duck on just the second delivery of the innings.

However, Dutta’s opening partner Rohan Rangarajan held on, top-scoring for the Singaporean side with 46 runs. The right-handed batter smashed nine hits to the fence and a six in his 30-knock play before he was caught by Sundeep Jora off Gulsan Jha in 7.1 overs.

Amartya Kaul was next to go being dismissed for null by Jha while facing his fourth delivery.

Likewise, Surendran Chandramohan managed a measly 10-ball 6 while Janak Prakash contributed 7 runs before they were dismissed by Sandeep Lamichhane. Chandramohan was bowled out in 6.5 overs while Prakash was caught leg-before in 10.2 overs.

Wicketkeeper Manpreet Singh smashed three hits to the boundaries, scoring 26 runs off 24 balls. Singh was caught by Rohit Paudel off Karan KC in 16.3 overs.

Similarly, Aryaveer Chaudhry put 37 runs off 26 balls on the scoreboard smashing five hits to the fences. He was caught by KC off Abinash Bohara.

Tailenders Thilipan Omaidurai and Anantha Krishna failed to make an impact being dismissed for 1 and 0 runs respectively. Omaidurai was caught by Sundeep Jora in 17.2 overs while Krishna was caught by Paudel two deliveries later.

Akshay Puri smashed a boundary and a six, contributing an unbeaten 13 runs as the visitors put 145 runs on the scoreboard losing nine wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.

For Nepal, Abinash Bohara collected three Singaporean scalps while Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane and Gulsan Jha also dismissed two batters each.

Eight teams are competing in the Asia regional final, with two spots up for grabs at next year’s global showpiece in the United States and West Indies. Nepal are drawn alongside Singapore, Oman and Malaysia in Group A, while Group B consists of the UAE, Hong Kong, Bahrain and Kuwait. 

The top two teams in each group will progress into the high-stakes semi-finals where the two finalists will book their place in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Nepal’s only appearance at a cricket World Cup came at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.