Kathmandu, July 24: Nepal suffered a six-wicket defeat to the Netherlands in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 on Wednesday, marking the team’s second consecutive loss in the ongoing series.
Playing in Utrecht, Netherlands, Nepal failed to defend a modest target of 158 runs, as the hosts reached 158/4 in 44.1 overs.
Chasing 158, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards remained unbeaten on 61, while Noah Croes contributed an unbeaten 34 to guide the home side to victory. For Nepal, Sompal Kami, Dipendra Singh Airee, and Lalit Rajbanshi claimed one wicket each.
Earlier, after losing the toss and being sent in to bat, Nepal were bowled out for 157 in 44.4 overs. Aarif Sheikh was the top scorer with 41 runs, while Gulshan Jha added 29 and Dipendra Singh Airee contributed 21. Nepal struggled to build a competitive total after losing their top-order batters cheaply.
The defeat followed Nepal’s loss to Namibia in the opening match of the series on Tuesday. With the result, Nepal remain on 24 points from 30 matches in the League 2 standings. The Netherlands, meanwhile, moved to 34 points from 29 matches.
Nepal will look to bounce back when they face Namibia in their third match of the series on Monday. #nepal
