KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 7
Nepal faced a 86-run defeat against hosts Namibia in the One Day International match under the ICC Cricket World Cup League-II at the United Cricket Club grounds in Windhoek today.
Batting first, Namibia posted 275-7 in their allotted 50 overs riding on century from Michael van Lingen before Nepal were packed for 189 runs with 19 ball to spare. Nepal have earned one point from three matches after the game against Namibia ended in a no result due to rain, while Nepal faced defeat against Scotland.
Chasing a modest target, Nepal lost Kushal Bhurtel (three) and Aasif Sheikh (seven) with just 22 runs on the board. Opener Arjun Saud and Gyanendra Malla tried to revive the innings with a 52-run partnership for the third wicket but Nepal came under pressure after they were dismissed in the space of two runs.
Saud hit a four and two sixes in his 54-ball 29, while Malla scored 30 off 39 balls with the help of two fours and a six. Gulsan Jha (two) was dismissed cheaply before skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee added 56 runs for the sixth wicket. Nepal then lost last five wickets for 42 runs as their innings folded.
Paudel was the top scorer with 44 off 61 balls hittingthree fours, while Airee struck three boundaries in his 41-ball 34. Aarif Sheikh (18) and Lalit Rajbanshi (11) were the other two batsmen who scored in double figures.
J Smit, Tangeni Lungameni and Pikky Ya France grabbed two wickets each for Namibia, while Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz and Michael van Lingen bagged one wicket apiece.
Earlier, Nepal reduced the home team to 34-2 inside eight overs before van Lingen and Gerhard Erasmus shared a 99-run partnership for the third wicket. After Erasmus was dismissed for 76-ball 53, van Lingen and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton added 90 runs for the fourth wicket to take the match away from Nepal. Van Lingen struck 15 boundaries and a six in his 111-ball 119, while Loftie-Eaton scored a quick fire 40 off 32 balls that included four fours and a six.
Ya France remained unbeaten on seven-ball 11 hitting one each four and six.
Lalit Rajbanshi was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 4-36 from 10 overs he received little support from others. Sompal Kami bagged 2-53 from 10 overs, while Sagar Dhakal took 1-27. Nepal skipper used eight bowlers in his failed attempt to stop Namibia from scoring freely. Nepal will end the Namibia tri-series campaign with a match against Scotland on Thursday.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 9, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
