In a tense encounter at the Kirtipur Cricket Ground, Nepal suffered a narrow two-run defeat against the Netherlands, extending their losing streak to two in the ongoing T20 tri-series.

Nepal’s skipper, Rohit Kumar Poudel, led by example with a fighting half-century, ably supported by Dipendra Singh Airee’s 63-run knock. However, their valiant efforts fell short as they were restricted to 182 runs, chasing a challenging 185-run target set by the Dutch.

Netherlands’ bowling attack proved to be a thorn in Nepal’s side, with Rolof van der Marwe and Sybrand Engelbrecht leading the charge with two wickets apiece. The pair, along with Vivian Kingma and Aryan Dutt, kept the pressure on the Nepalese batsmen throughout the innings.

Earlier, the Netherlands, after being put into bat, posted a competitive total of 184 runs. Michael Levitt, playing his first T20 international for the Netherlands, impressed with a well-compiled fifty, while Sybrand Engelbrecht’s unbeaten 49 provided valuable support.

Nepal will look to bounce back when they take on Namibia in their next match on Friday.