KATHMANDU, JUNE 15
Opener Kushal Bhurtel scored a century and Sompal Kami completed five-wicket haul as Nepal defeated Oman by two wickets in the official warmup match ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe on Thursday.
Batting first, Oman were bowled out for 267 riding on century from skipper Zeeshan Maqsood and half century from Ayaan Khan. In reply, Bhurtel scored a century and Bhim Sharki belted half century to guide Nepal to victory with 31 balls to spare.
Bhurtel anchored Nepal's innings with a 94-ball 101 with the help of 13 fours and two sixes before being retired hurt in the 31st over. Bhurtel and Sharki shared a 115-run partnership for the second wicket.
Sharki struck nine fours in his 74-ball 56. Bhurtel and fellow opener Aasif Sheikh made a flying start putting up 71 runs inside 10 overs before the latter was dismissed for 23 off 24 balls that included four boundaries.
Dipendra Singh Airee, who came in after Bhurtel retired in the 31st over, scored 22-ball 26 with the help of four boundaries, while Kushal Malla contributed 19. Skipper Rohit Poudel scored 31 off 28 balls, while Sandeep Lamichhane took the team home with a six.
Fayyaz Butt was the pick of the Oman bowlers taking four wickets. Earlier, Sompal Kami took five wickets to bowl Oman out for 267 runs. Skipper Maqsood struck 15 fours and a six in his 106-ball 109, while Ayaan Khan scored 56 off 46 balls that included three boundaries and four sixes. Shoaib Khan scored 38 with the help of four fours and a six.
Kami returned with the figures of 5-57 from 9.2 overs, while Lamichhane grabbed 3-66. Karan KC and Pratis GC bagged one wicket each for Nepal. Nepal had faced defeats against the United Arab Emirates, Netherlands and Scotland in the three previous warm-up matches.
Nepal will now begin the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers campaign with a match against hosts Zimbabwe on Sunday. The West Indies, the United States of America and the Netherlands are other three teams in Group A. Ireland, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Scotland and Oman are in Group B. Nepal will face the USA in second match on June 20 before taking on the West Indies two days later. Nepal will end the group round with a match against the Netherlands on June 24. Top three teams from both groups will make it to the Super Six, while the top two teams of the qualifiers will earn berths in World Cup to be held in India later this year.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 16, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
