Kathmandu: In a thrilling encounter at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Nepal was narrowly defeated by South Africa by just 1 run. The match, held at Arnos Vale Cricket Stadium in Kingstown, West Indies, saw the Nepali bowlers put up an impressive performance, restricting the South African team to a total of 115 runs in 20 overs.

Nepal, having won the toss, opted to field first. The bowling attack was led by Kushal Bhurtel, who took 4 wickets for 19 runs in his 4-over spell. Dipendra Singh Airee also shone with the ball, taking 3 wickets for 21 runs. Sandeep Lamichhane, although wicketless, was economical, conceding just 18 runs in his 4 overs. South Africa's top performer with the bat was opener Reeza Hendricks, who scored 43 runs off 49 balls. Tristan Stubbs contributed 27 runs off 18 balls, while the rest of the batting lineup struggled to make significant contributions.

In response, Nepal came agonizingly close to the target but fell short by just one run, scoring 114 runs in their 20 overs. Aasif Sheikh was the top scorer for Nepal with 42 runs off 49 balls, supported by Anil Sah's 27 runs off 24 balls. Kushal Bhurtel added 13 runs before being dismissed, and captain Rohit Paudel was out for a duck.

South African bowler Tabraiz Shamsi was the standout performer, taking 4 wickets for 19 runs in his 4 overs and earning the Player of the Match award. Anrich Nortje and Aiden Markram chipped in with one wicket each to help secure the narrow victory.

With this loss, Nepal remains with just one point from their matches so far, having previously lost to the Netherlands and seen their match against Sri Lanka washed out. Nepal's playing XI for the match included Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Anil Sah, Rohit Paudel (captain), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, and Abhinash Bohra.

Nepal will face Bangladesh in their final match of the T20 World Cup 2024 on June 17.