Kathmandu, Sept 19: In a nail-biting match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, Oman defeated Nepal by one wicket, chasing down a target of 220 runs in 49.5 overs at the Maple Leaf North-West Ground (A) in King City, Ontario, Canada.
Oman won the toss and chose to field first. Nepal, batting first, posted a total of 220 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Nepal’s captain Rohit Kumar Paudel led the scoring with 60 runs from 72 balls, hitting 2 fours and 4 sixes. Gulshan Jha made a quickfire 53 off 35 balls, hitting 3 fours and 5 sixes, while Sompal Kami added 20 runs from 8 balls with two sixes towards the end.
Despite a decent score, Nepal’s start was shaky. Arjun Saud, opening in place of Kushal Bhurtel, was dismissed for 5 runs, while his fellow opener Aasif Shaikh managed only 11 runs. Bhim Sharki and Aarif Sheikh scored 11 and 35 runs respectively, but Nepal struggled to build big partnerships.
Oman’s bowlers did well to restrict Nepal, with Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, and Aqib Ilyas each taking two wickets.
In reply, Oman chased down the target in a dramatic finish, scoring 221/9 with one ball remaining. In the last two overs, Oman needed 10 runs with only one wicket left. Nepal’s Karan KC bowled a brilliant 49th over, conceding only 2 runs, leaving Oman needing 8 from the final over. Oman’s Kaleemullah and Shakeel Ahmed kept their nerve, with Kaleemullah hitting a boundary on the penultimate ball to seal the victory.
Gulshan Jha was the standout bowler for Nepal, taking 5 wickets for 47 runs in his 10 overs, while Karan KC took 2 wickets and Sandeep Lamichhane and Aarif Shaikh chipped in with a wicket each.
Earlier, Nepal lost to host Canada by a huge margin of 103 runs. Nepal will now face Canada in their third match on Sunday night.
Nepal is playing tri-nation series in Canada where Nepal, Canada and Oman are participating. #nepal #Oman #cricket #ICC
