World T20 Qualifiers: Nepal bowls China out for 26

After bowling out China for a meagre 26 runs in a World Twenty20 qualifier, Nepal surpassed the target in just 11 balls.

Sandeep Lamichhane picked up three wickets for four runs against China in the World T20 Qualifiers.

China is still a minnow when it comes to the cricket field. Its latest foray into the international stage ended in a huge defeat on Wednesday against Nepal. After bowling out China for a meagre 26 runs in an ICC World Twenty20 qualifier, Nepal surpassed the target in just 11 balls.

China matched its worst performance in the tournament - 26 all out in its loss to Singapore. It had scores of 35 for nine, 45, and 48 in defeats to Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar.

Against Nepal, opening batsman Yan Hongjiang top-scored for China with 11 runs. The next biggest contribution was the nine extras, and Indian Premier League bowler Sandeep Lamichhane picked up three wickets for four runs. Qun Tiansen, one of eight Chinese players out for a duck, then went for 21 runs in his first and only over as Binod Bhandari smashed 24 in Nepal's quickfire reply of 29-0.

'Not a big achievement for Nepal'

Cricket in China has a short history with its national team making its first international appearance at the 2010 Asian Games. The giant nation is known for ploughing huge sums into sports, especially football and the Olympic disciplines. But cricket does not enjoy a similar status in China.

“The size of country and its power do not matter (in cricket),” former Nepal captain Binod Das told AFP in Kathmandu.

“We shouldn't undermine them because they may takeover in future as they have capacity to invest in infrastructure and skill development.”

Nepal, meanwhile, gained ODI status in March and have now set its sights on joining the world's elite by achieving Test status. A former official with Nepal's cricket association, Chhumbi Lama, said the victory over China was always a formality for the small Himalayan nation.

“China might be stronger in terms of power and economy than Nepal, but Nepal is stronger than China when it comes to cricket. Beating China is not a big achievement for Nepal,” he told AFP .