Aasif Sheikh stars as Nepal beat Canada in T20 World Cup warm-up

CHENNAI: Nepal secured a six-wicket victory over Canada in a T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match, thanks to a brilliant 29-ball 58 from Aasif Sheikh and an economical bowling performance by Sandeep Lamichhane, who finished with 2 for 14.

This marks Nepal’s second consecutive win in the warm-ups, while Canada suffered their second defeat after losing to Italy earlier.

Batting first, Canada lost opener Yuvraj Samra early, dismissed for a slow 7 off 15 balls in the fourth over. Navneet Dhaliwal and Kanwarpal Tathgur then steadied the innings with a 63-run partnership for the second wicket.

However, once Tathgur fell to Kushal Bhurtel, Canada collapsed, losing 4 wickets for just 24 runs in 20 balls.

Bhurtel dismissed Nicholas Kirton before Lamichhane struck, removing Dhaliwal for 41 and then cleaning up Harsh Thakker. 

Shreyas Movva provided a late surge, smashing an unbeaten 38 off 19 balls, while Jaskaran Singh added 21 off 11. Their efforts helped Canada score 56 runs in the last four overs, finishing with 161 for 6.

Chasing 162, Nepal lost Bhurtel early, but Aasif Sheikh and Sundeep Jora added a crucial 84-run partnership for the second wicket off just 52 balls.

Aasif retired on 58, and Jora soon followed, but Gulshan Jha remained unbeaten on 31 to guide Nepal to victory with two overs to spare.

Nepal, drawn in Group C, will play all of their group-stage matches at the Wankhede Stadium, beginning with their campaign opener against England on February 8, followed by a clash against Italy on February 12. 

The team will then face the West Indies on February 15 before concluding its group-stage fixtures against Scotland on February 17.

Nepal squad: Rohit Paudel (c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Sundeep Jora, Aarif Sheikh, Basir Ahamad, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Gulshan Jha, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sher Malla and Lokesh Bam.