In the opening game of the T20 series, held at the Grand Prairie venue in Dallas, Nepal defeated America by 17 runs. Nepal lost the toss, was put in to bat first, and set a 165-run aim.
America only managed 147 runs at a cost of 7 wickets, falling 17 runs short. With three significant wickets in his three overs, Nepal's Dipendra Singh Aire was important in their victory.
With two fours and a six in his 28 runs off 17 balls, Aire made a substantial batting contribution as well. He was named Player of the Match for his overall effort.
With a strong score of 49 runs off 33 balls, Nepal's captain Rohit Paudel took the lead and came just short of reaching the half-century mark. He hit four fours and one six over his innings.
Ashif Sheikh and Anil Shah, the openers, both scored 27 runs to give Nepal a respectable start. On 18 balls, Shah hit two fours and a six, while on 27 balls, Sheikh hit four boundaries.
However, the middle and lower order in Nepal had difficulties. Gulsan Jha got off to a fast start but got out for 11 runs from 7 balls, while Kushal Bhurtel was able to manage only 10 runs off 13 balls.
With Sompal Kami scoring just two runs and Karan KC and Arif Shaikh both being out for zero, Nepal's batting lineup's tail end struggled. America's bowlers caused Nepal's batting to collapse in the last overs.
With two wickets apiece, American bowlers Harmit Singh, Jasdeep Singh, and Saurabh Netrawalkar placed pressure on Nepal and limited their total.
The second and third games of Nepal's T20 series against America are set for Sunday and Monday, respectively, providing them an opportunity to complete the series.
