KATHMANDU, JUNE 10
Nepal national cricket team faced a 13-run defeat at the hands of Oman in the One Day International Tri-series under ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League-II at the Moosa Cricket Stadium in Houston on Thursday.
Batting first, Oman posted 211-8 in their allotted 50 overs before Nepal were packed for 198 runs with two balls to spare. Nepal will face home team, the United States of America in the next match on Saturday. Chasing a modest target, Nepali batting woes surfaced again they fell 14 runs short of the victory target.
Nepal opened their chase with debutante Sunil Dhamala and experienced Subash Khakurel after regular openers Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel picked injuries in practice matches. Khakurel (three) was dismissed in the third over with just seven runs on the board, while Dhamala also had a forgetful ODI debut after he was out for 12 runs.
Dev Khanal and vice-captain Rohit Paudel added 31 runs for the third wicket before they were dismissed in the space of eight runs to be 79-4 in 21.2 overs. Khanal scored 34 off 53 balls that included five boundaries, while Paudel struck three fours in his 17-ball 20. Dipendra Singh Airee (16), Binod Bhandari (14), Karan KC (eight) and Sompal Kami (13) were also dismissed cheaply as Nepal reeled at 183-8.
Aarif Sheikh fought the lonely battle and scored half century but he did not get support from the other end.
Sheikh struck six boundaries in his 66 off 79 balls. Oman skipper Zeeshan Maqsood (3- 37) and Khawar Ali (3-47) shared six wickets between them, while Bilal Khan grabbed two and Ayaan Khan claimed one wicket.
Earlier, Oman skipper Maqsood scored an unbeaten century to help his side post a challenging total after they were reduced to 86-5 at the halfway stage of the innings.
Karan KC had a fiery start as he trapped Kashyap Prajapati leg before the wicket in the first ball of the innings and he removed the other opener Jatinder Singh (11) in the seventh over to make it 26-2.
Nepal skipper Sandeep Lamichhane struck twice in the space of two runs. He had Shoib Khan (27) caught behind by Binod Bhandari and bowled Mohammad Nadeem (one) to reduce Oman to 55-4.
Karan KC removed Ayaan Khan (eight) in the 25th over before Oman skipper Maqsood consolidated the innings with a 60-run partnership with Khawar Ali for the sixth wicket. Ali scored 62-ball 30 hitting three fours.
Maqsood remained unbeaten on 104 off 126 balls that included 12 fours. Suraj Kumar hit the lone six of the match in his 14-ball 12. Karan KC claimed 5-38 and became first Nepali cricketer to bag five-wicket haul in T20Is and ODIs, but his efforts were not enough to avert the loss. Skipper Lamichhane grabbed 2-44 and Sompal Kami pocketed one wicket.
Both teams remained unchanged in the table, Oman at the top and Nepal at sixth.
Oman accumulated 42 points from 34 matches, while Nepal have 12 from 13 games. Scotland are second on 28, two more than UAE. The USA are fourth on 20 points from 21 matches, while Namibia are next with 14 points.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 11, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
