Aasif, Lamichhane hand Nepal second straight warm-up win
Movva and Jaskaran lifted Canada to 161 for 6 but couldn't prevent their team from slipping to a second straight defeat
ESPNcricinfo staff
Feb 5, 2026, 11:44 AM • 4 hrs ago
File photo: Aasif Sheikh scored a quick half-century • Associated Press
Nepal 162 for 4 (Aasif 58, Jora 44) beat Canada 161 for 6 (Dhaliwal 41, Movva 38, Lamichhane 2-14, Bhurtel 2-26) by six wickets
Aasif Sheikh's 29-ball 58 and Sandeep Lamichhane's frugal 2 for 14 were the highlights of Nepal's six-wicket win against Canada in the T20 World Cup warm-up game in Chennai. This was Nepal's second straight win at the warm-ups while Canada faced a second loss, having earlier gone down to Italy.
Batting first, Canada lost opener Yuvraj Samra in the fourth over for a laborious 7 off 15 balls, before Navneet Dhaliwal and Kanwarpal Tathgur added 63 for the second wicket. Once Tathagur fell to Kushal Bhurtel, Canada lost their way, losing 4 for 24 in 20 balls.
Bhurtel sent back Nicholas Kirton before Lamichhane got among the wickets, first removing Dhaliwal for 41 and then cleaning up Harsh Thakker. Shreyas Movva then provided Canada with much-needed impetus, slamming an unbeaten 38 off 19 balls, while Jaskaran Singh scored 21 off 11. They helped Canada collect 56 runs off the last four overs, lifting them to 161 for 6.
Nepal lost Bhurtel early in their chase but Aasif and Sundeep Jora added 84 runs for the second wicket off just 52 balls to keep them on track. Aasif retired out on 58 and Jora fell soon after, but Gulsan Jha's calm unbeaten 31 took Nepal over the line with two overs to spare.
Nepal begin their World Cup campaign against England at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, while Canada will take on South Africa on Monday.
