Cricket League-2: Nepal facing PNG today

KATHMANDU: The Nepali cricket team, which has retained its one-day status, will now take the field with the sole goal of qualifying for the World Cup directly.

Nepal takes on Papua New Guinea (PNG) today (Monday) in the capital as part of the ongoing ICC World Cup League-2 triangular one-day cricket series.

The match will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Tribhuvan University’s Kirtipur ground. While Nepal continues its winning streak, it intends to play World Cup qualification directly by defeating PNG, which has won three consecutive games.

Nepal clinched one-day international status by defeating UAE by 177 runs on Sunday. Nepal will be eligible to play in the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe if they defeat PNG and the UAE again.

The top three teams in the seven-team World Cup League-2 advance to the World Cup qualifiers. The third team has yet to be determined, following champions Scotland and runner-up Oman, who finished the league in the top two. With Nepal’s defeat, Namibia, with 39 points, will have a chance. However, if Nepal wins both games, it will qualify with 40 points.

So far, Scotland holds the lead with 50 points. With 44 points, Oman is in second place. Namibia is third with 39 points. Nepal is in fourth place with 36 points from 34 matches. After all games, the United States has 35 points.

UAE is sixth in the standings with 31 points from 34 games. PNG is at the bottom of the table with 11 points from 34 games. Nepal will move up to third place with 40 points if it wins its remaining two matches. According to the UAE, the chances of retaining one-day recognition are less.

The top three teams from a field of seven will advance directly to the World Cup qualifiers. The top five teams’ one-day ranking will remain unchanged. The bottom two teams will be demoted for one day.

So far, PNG has been denied one-day recognition, while one of the teams from the United States and the United Arab Emirates will be denied recognition.