Melbourne Stars Academy continued their good form with a 31-run victory against Nepal in Match 13 of the Top End T20 Series 2025 at the TIO Stadium in Darwin on Monday, 18 August. With two wins in three matches, the Stars are now in fourth place in the table, trailing table-toppers Northern Territory Strike by just two points.
Winning the toss and opting to field first, MS-A posted a challenging total of 175/7 in their allotted 20 overs. After Campbell Kellaway was dismissed in just the third ball by Sompal Kami, Thomas Rogers (65 off 46) and Blake Macdonald (74 off 47) built a 120-run partnership to stabilise the Stars’ innings.
After Sandeep Lamichhane dismissed the pair, Sam Harper added 11 runs off eight deliveries at the end to help the Stars put a decent target for their opponents. Lamichhane was the hero with the ball for Nepal with figures of 3/26.
Nepal’s chase began well as Kushal Bhartel and Aasif Sheikh built a decent opening partnership of 30 runs. However, the quick dismissals of Bhartel and Bhim Shakti put Nepal under pressure. Sheikh held on to complete his half-century, finishing at 53 off 49. He was aided by captain Rohit Paudel (33 off 31).
However, two wickets each from Austin Anlezark and Doug Warren ended Nepal’s innings at 144/7, handing Melbourne Stars Academy their second successive win in the tournament.
Following their previous loss to Bangladesh A, Nepal are now second-last in the table with three losses in three games.
Nepal Vs Melbourne Stars Academy, Top End T20 Series 2025: Playing XIs
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Bhim Sharki, Rohit Paudel (c), Diprendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane, Shahab Alam
Melbourne Stars Academy: Campbell Kellaway (c), Thomas Rogers, Blake Macdonald, Liam Blackford, Jonathan Merlo, Sam Harper (wk), Chris Howe, Aryan Sharma, Doug Warren, Max Birthisel, Austin Anlezark
Nepal Vs Melbourne Stars Academy, Top End T20 Series 2025: Live Streaming Details
The Nepal vs Melbourne Stars Academy, Top End T20 Series 2025 match 13 will be live-streamed on the FanCode app and website in India. There will be no television broadcast of the match.
