China vs Nepal, Asia Games Q, 2026, Today Match Prediction

CH vs NEP Match Prediction & Analysis

Nepal and China cricket team will lock horns in the Asian Games Men’s T20I Qualifier 2026 on Sunday, 31st May. The venue for this match is Singapore National Cricket Ground and the scheduled start time is 7:00 IST. 

Nepal are coming off an impressive performance during the T20 World Cup in India, while China head into the contest with a terrible run of form. Nepal would eye a winning start to the competition and China would aim to get a surprise victory in the competition. 

Current Standings: Nepal and China are yet to play a game in the series. Standings will be updated after the game. 

H2H history: Nepal and China Women haven’t played a single T20 International match against each other. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

China Preview

China has arrived in Singapore for the Asian Games T20I qualifiers, marking their return to international cricket following a three-month gap. The team will be looking to bounce back after a tough run in the Men’s East Asia Cup, where they lost all four of their matches. 

Throughout that tournament, China struggled to find momentum with the bat, failing to cross the 100-run mark in any game, with their highest total being 99 against Japan. In fact, China has lost 11 of their last 13 matches in this format, with their only two victories during this period coming against Myanmar. 

Their most recent win was in January, where they defeated Myanmar by 47 runs. That match also featured China's only 100-plus score in T20Is over the past one-year cycle, a total of 129.

Wei Guolei could be a player to watch out for. He bats in the top order and scored 70 runs in China’s most recent victory, while Ma Qiancheng also bagged a five-wicket haul in that win. Looking at the wider squad metrics, Deng Jinqi has played 6 matches, scoring 61 runs at an average of 15.25 and a strike rate of 56.48. 

Chen Zhuo Yue has featured in 10 matches, contributing 55 runs at an average of 6.88 and a strike rate of 72.36. On the bowling front, Ma Qiancheng has taken 12 wickets across his 9 matches with an economy rate of 5.9 and a strike rate of 15.75. Chen Zhuo Yue has also contributed with the ball across his 10 matches, taking 8 wickets with an economy rate of 7.49 and a strike rate of 21.12.

China Predicted Playing XI:

Guo Lei, Z Kui, Z Zelin, H Junjie, Z Yuechao, Z Shenjian, Sen Qun, Z Tianle, Qiancheng, L Shilin, Z Yue

Nepal Preview

Nepal appeared in the last Asian Games and set new records, though they did not reach the podium. They will now be in Singapore for the Asian Games Qualifiers as the main contenders. Nepal are playing regular cricket, having recently featured in the ICC CWC League 2 where they won six out of eight games as they target potential qualification for the CWC 2027, which will be played in the ODI format.

Now, Nepal have to transform their energy from the 50-over format to T20. They last played T20Is against the UAE in a two-match series, where they won one game. Meanwhile, they are proud of their performance in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where they secured a victory against Scotland in their final group stage game and almost defeated two-time champions England.

Dipendra Singh Airee could be the player to watch out for, as he has been a pretty consistent player for Nepal. He recently scored a 36-ball 59 in a previous game of the CWC League 2, and he also scored a monumental half-century in Nepal’s maiden T20 WC victory. Sandeep Lamichhane is another vital option as the frontline spinner for his team.

Kushal Bhurtel is the player to watch out for in the top order, where he has scored 298 runs in the last 10 matches at an average of 33.11 and a strike rate of 129. Aasif Sheikh has also been in good touch over the last 8 matches, contributing 226 runs with an average of 28.25 and a strike rate of 121.5. 

In the bowling department, Sandeep Lamichhane has taken 15 wickets across his 10 matches with an economy rate of 6.11 and a strike rate of 13.93. Nandan Yadav has also contributed with the ball, picking up 10 wickets in the last 10 matches with an economy rate of 8.31 and a strike rate of 17.4.

Nepal Predicted Playing XI:

Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Ishan Pandey, Rohit Paudel, Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi

Weather Conditions

On Sunday, May 31, 2026, Singapore Ground, Singapore will be cloudy with a high of 31°C and a low of 28°C, along with a 40% chance of rain and north winds at 10 kph. 

CH vs NEP Pitch Report

The pitch at Singapore National Cricket Ground is good for batting. We saw a right balance between bat and ball during the Asia Pacific Cricket Champions Trophy. Spin assistance will be there in the middle overs. 

In the last five matches at this ground, the average first batting score in the women’s T20I is 170. It is a quality T20I batting surface where batsmen need to play sensibly in the initial overs. It will be the first game of the day so we might expect a slow pitch. 

Score prediction: 

If China bat first - 120-130 runs
If Nepal bat first - 210-220 runs 

Toss: To Bowl

In the last five Men’s T20I on this surface, chasing sides won three matches. Both Nepal and China will play their game on this ground. 189 is the highest successful run-chase on this ground. It means, the surface will provide help to batters in both innings. 

So, captains would follow the same pattern if they won the toss. Both teams have had earlier success while bowling first and they will look to bowl first in this fixture as well. 

Toss Prediction: China to win the coin toss.