KATHMANDU, JUNE 16
Nepal faced a 39-run defeat at the hands of United States of America in the One Day International tri-series under the ICC Cricket World Cup League-II at the Moosa Cricket Stadium in Houston, Texas on Wednesday.
Batting first, the home team overcame a shaky start to post 245-7 in their allotted 50 overs before Nepal were packed for 206 runs with 14 balls to spare. Nepal earned three points from the fourmatch series and improved to fifth position.
Nepal first allowed the USA to build their innings and later crumbled in reply losing last five wickets in the space of seven runs. After being reduced to 93-5 inside 21.2 overs, Aarif Sheikh and Sompal Kami added 106 runs for the sixth wicket to take the team close to victory. But once Sheikh and Kami were dismissed in 45th over, Nepal's innings simply crumbled.
Sheikh top scored with 63 off 76 balls that included three boundaries, while Kami hit a four in his 72-ball 47. Dev Khanal struck two fours and a six in his 34 off 47 balls, while top order batsmen - Kushal Bhurtel (10), Aasif Sheikh (18) and Rohit Paudel (16) - fell cheaply.
Saurabh Netravalkar (3-44) and Ali Khan (3-32) shared six wickets between them, while Nosthush Kenjige and Nisarg Patel grabbed one each for the home team.
Earlier, Karan KC struck in the fifth ball of the innings and his second over to reduce the USA to 8-2 before Sushant Modani and Aaron James revived the innings with a 88-run partnership for the third wicket. The duo fell in the space of 14 runs but Saiteja Mukkamalla and Gajanand Singh added 85 runs for the fifth wicket to take the scores close to 200- run mark.
Singh top scored for the home team with 60-ball 58 with the help of five boundaries and a six, while Modani scored 54 off 83 balls that included seven fours. Jones hit three fours in his 60-ball 43, while Mukkamalla contributed 52-ball 36. Nisarg Patel and Cameron Stevenson added 30 runs off the last 22 balls for the unbroken eighth wicket. Patel remained unbeaten on run-a-ball 18, while Stevenson scored 10- ball 16 not out.
Karan KC was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 3-67, while skipper Sandeep Lamichhane bagged 2-43.
Sompal Kami and Dipendra Singh Airee grabbed one wicket each.
KC, who took 13 wickets in four matches including two five-wicket hauls against Oman, was named the player of the series.
Meanwhile, Cricket Association of Nepal informed the national team would travel to Canada for two each T20Is and One Day matches before the ODI Tri-series in Scotland. Nepal and Canada will play the T20Is on June 28 and June 29, while the One Day matches are slated for July 4 and July 5. The team will then travel to play ODI Tri-series under League-II against Scotland and Namibia from July 10-17.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 17, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
