India v Nepal - Asia Cup

Nepal opener Aasif Sheikh smashed a massive six off South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada in the 2024 T20 World Cup match at Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent, on Friday (June 14).

The monstrous hit came in the 13th over of Nepal’s run chase. Rabada bowled a short delivery. Sheikh swiveled across and picked the length early to send it out of the ground over the square leg region. The ball had to be changed as it hit the roof before bouncing out of the stadium.

Watch the video below:

Aasif Sheikh scored 42 runs off 49 balls with the help of one six and four boundaries. The wicketkeeper-batter was eventually cleaned up by the left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi in the 18th over.

“We didn’t do well in the crunch moments but we fought very well” – Nepal captain Rohit Paudel on 1-run loss to South Africa in 2024 T20 World Cup

Nepal captain Rohit Paudel lauded his side for their fight against South Africa in the T20 World Cup match on Friday. Chasing a 116-run target, Nepal (114/7) lost the game by just one run. Paudel said in the post-match show (via ESPNCricinfo):

‘I am very proud of the unit, especially the way we bowled and batted, I’m very proud of that. We were very close but a little far. In crunch moments, we did well, but the way we fought was very good. If we get more exposure regularly, then next games we will be on the other side [of the result].’

‘When we saw the wicket yesterday, we thought it would be on the slower side. Eventually when we were bowling I thought the wicket was helping the spinners and then we introduced Bhurtel and we carried on with the spinners,” he added.

Asked to bat first, the Proteas managed 115/7, thanks to a four-wicket haul from Kushal Bhurtel and three wickets from Dipendra Singh. Reeza Hendricks starred with the bat for SA, scoring 43 off 49 balls. Tristan Stubbs also chipped in with an unbeaten 27 off 18.

In response, Nepal managed 114/7. Apart from Aasif Sheikh, Anil Sah scored 27 off 24. Tabraiz Shamsi bagged four wickets while Anrich Nortje and skipper Aiden Markram took one apiece.

Nepal will next play against Bangladesh in their last 2024 T20 World Cup group-stage game on Sunday (June 16). Meanwhile, the Proteas will lock horns with co-hosts USA in a Super Eight fixture on June 19.