KATHMANDU: The Nepal national cricket team faced its second straight defeat to South Australia on Thursday.

In the second practice match, Nepal was narrowly defeated by 3 runs after chasing a target of 161, finishing all out for 157 in 20 overs.

Rupesh Kumar Singh top-scored with 37 runs, followed by Lokesh Bam (32), Bhim Sarki (29), Kushal Bhurtel (11), and Arif Sheikh (10).

For South Australia, Campbell Thompson took four wickets, while Tom Menzies, Tim Oakley, and Noah MacFadden claimed two wickets each.

Batting first in the second match, South Australia posted 160 for 8 in 20 overs.

Ryan King scored 34 runs, Harry Manetty and Daniel Dree both made 29, Dautzy Hoganbuijem 14, Thomas Brown 12, Jack Winter 12, and captain Mackenzie Harvey 11.

Nepal’s Rupesh Singh, Karan KC, and Shahbaz Alam took two wickets each, while Dipendra Singh Airey and Kushal Bhurtel picked one each.

Earlier in the day, Nepal had lost the first practice match by 3 wickets.

This series followed Nepal’s participation in the Top End T20 Series in Australia, where they were eliminated in the group stage.

Prior to the South Australia games, Nepal secured consecutive wins in T20 practice matches against local Capital Territory (CT).

Nepal is scheduled to play a one-day match against South Australia on August 30 as part of preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia-Pacific qualifiers in October.