Nepal suffers thrilling 1-wicket defeat to Oman
Apart from Gulshan Jha, the other players failed to put up even a moderate performance.
KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered its second loss on the Canada tour as part of the ICC World Cup Cricket League 2, with a 1-wicket defeat to Oman.
Apart from Gulshan Jha, the other players failed to put up even a moderate performance.
In the long oing tri-series between Nepal, Oman, and Canada, Nepal had already lost its previous game to the home team. On Thursday, Oman chased down Nepal’s target of 221 runs in a thrilling finish, winning by 1 wicket with one ball to spare.
Oman’s opening pair put on a solid 75-run partnership. Opener Jatinder Singh scored 41 runs off 49 balls, hitting three boundaries and a six before being trapped LBW by Sandeep Lamichhane in the 17th over.
His opening partner, Kashyap Prajapati, was dismissed for 36 three overs later, caught by Asif Sheikh off Arif Sheikh’s bowling.
Gulshan Jha was the standout performer for Nepal with the ball. He took five crucial wickets, dismissing Oman captain Aqib Ilyas for 29, Ayaan Khan for 9, Shoaib Khan for 26, Fayyaz Butt for 8, and Jay Odedra for 5 runs.
Jha finished with figures of 5 wickets for 47 runs from his 10 overs, including two maidens. Karan KC took 2 wickets, while Sandeep Lamichhane and Arif Sheikh each claimed 1 wicket.
Earlier, Oman won the toss and chose to field at the Maple Leaf North-West Ground in King City, Ontario. Nepal managed to score 220 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their 50 overs.
Nepal’s captain Rohit Kumar Paudel top-scored with 60 runs off 72 balls, hitting two boundaries and four sixes. Gulshan Jha also contributed with the bat, scoring a quickfire 53 runs off 35 balls, which included three boundaries and five sixes.
Sompal Kami added 20 runs from just 8 balls, hitting two sixes, helping Nepal surpass the 200-run mark.
Despite this, Nepal had a poor start to their innings. Arjun Saud, who replaced Kushal Bhurtel as an opener, could only manage 5 runs. The other opener, Asif Sheikh, was dismissed for 11 runs, while Bhim Sharki also scored 11 runs.
Arif Sheikh, who was given an opportunity in this game, made 35 runs off 88 balls with one boundary. Batting at number seven, Anil Kumar Sah couldn’t make an impact, scoring just 3 runs off 9 balls. Sandeep Lamichhane was dismissed for 11 runs, and Karan KC managed just 1 run.
For Oman, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, and Aqib Ilyas took two wickets each.
Nepal will now face the home team, Canada, in their third game of the series on Sunday night.
