Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has announced the fixture for the upcoming ACC Twenty20 Cup with Nepal facing Malaysia in the opening match.
After witnessing the world cup of the newest form of cricket, Nepali cricketers are preparing to compete in the ACC Twenty20 Cup with a hope of emulating neighbor India.
The inaugural edition of the Twenty20 for the non-Test playing nations of Asia is going to begin late October with 10 countries competing for the title in Kuwait. Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has already named 18 cricketers for the closed-camp that will begin in the first week of October.
Nepal is pitted with Malaysia, Afghanistan, Oman and Qatar in Group A while Group B consists of hosts Kuwait, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.
Nepal will be beginning its campaign against Malaysia on October 27 before taking on Qatar the next day. In the league matches, Nepal then plays Afghanistan on October 30 and Oman on October 31. The top two teams from each group proceed to the semifinals.
“This is an exciting form of cricket with very unpredictable results,” Nepal’s captain Binod Das said. “So there is a chance for every team to win the matches.” Das believes Nepal can win the event if batting supports fielding and bowling. “In this form of game, a team can recover any time,” he added.
“The inaugural international Twenty20 at Associate Level represents a big step forward for cricket in Asia and the Kuwait Cricket Association deserve full credit for agreeing to host such a condensed, intense format with so many teams within the space of a week,†ACC website quoted K.K. Haridas ACC Tournaments Executive.
The second edition of the event, scheduled for 2009, will be the qualifiers for the 2010 Asian Games. Three top teams from 2009 event will be selected to play along with four Test nations, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and the hosts China.
 ACC Twenty20 Cup 2007
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| Match Schedule: | ||
| October 27 | Malaysia v Nepal at Hubara Afghanistan v Qatar at Hubara Kuwait v UAE at Unity Hong Kong v Singapore at Unity |
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| October 28 | Singapore v UAE at Hubara Kuwait v Saudi Arabia at Hubara Nepal v Qatar at KEC Malaysia v Oman at KEC |
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| October 29 | Malaysia v Qatar at Unity Afghanistan v Oman at Unity Hong Kong v Saudi Arabia at KEC Kuwait v Singapore at KEC |
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| October 30 | Afghanistan v Nepal at Hubara Oman v Qatar at Hubara Hong Kong v UAE at KEC Saudi Arabia v Singapore at KEC |
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| October 31 | Nepal v Oman at Hubara Afghanistan v Malaysia at Hubara UAE v Saudi Arabia at Unity Hong Kong v Kuwait at Unity |
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| November 1 | SF1: A1 v B2 at Unity SF2: A2 v B1 at Unity |
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| November 2 | 3rd and 4th Playoff: Losers SF1 v Losers SF2 at Hubara Final: Winners SF1 v Winners SF2 at Hubara |
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