Kathmandu: A composed half-century from opener Kushal Bhurtel guided Nepal to a commanding 58-run victory over Kuwait in their opening Group ‘B’ match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia Pacific Qualifiers at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman on Wednesday.

Invited to bat first, Nepal posted a competitive 141-7 before bowling out Kuwait for 83 runs in 18.1 overs to seal the convincing win.

Though Nepal lost wickets at regular intervals and struggled to build momentum, Bhurtel anchored the innings with a patient 66 off 55 balls. The player-of-the-match Bhurtel slammed three fours and sixes each before being dismissed in the penultimate delivery of the innings.

Dipendra Singh Airee and Gulshan Jha made valuable contributions of 20 runs each. Dipendra struck a six in his 19-ball stay while Gulshan smashed three consecutive sixes in the penultimate over to push Nepal past the 140-run mark.

Skipper Rohit Paudel added 16 off 15 balls, while the rest of the lineup failed to make a remarkable impact.

For Kuwait, Naveeraj Rajendran and Anudeep Chandamara picked up two wickets apiece.

In reply, Kuwait’s chase faltered early as opener Ravija Sandaruwan was dismissed for a duck by Sompal Kami in the very first over. His partner Clinto Anto top-scored with 26 off 23 balls, hitting two sixes, before being run out with a stunning throw from Dipendra Singh Airee.

Yasin Patel made 19 off 27 balls including a six while Meet Bhavsar contributed 11 off 12.

Nepal’s spinners dominated the innings with Sandeep Lamichhane and Lalit Rajbanshi sharing two wickets each. Captain Rohit Paudel also bagged two wickets to wrap up the innings clinically.

Apart from Nepal and Kuwait, Japan complete the Group ‘B’ lineup. Group ‘A’ features the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Malaysia, while hosts Oman, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea (PNG) comprise Group ‘C’.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Six stage, where the top three sides will earn qualification for next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka.