Kathmandu, March 9

With two consecutive defeats, Nepal will take on Afghanistan in their must-win Group B match of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers at the Bulawayo Athletic Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on Saturday.

The match is equally important for both Nepal and Afghanistan as the result of the game will decide their fate for Super Six stage.

The Netherlands and top three Associate Members will get One Day International status till 2022 after the tournament. Associate country Scotland have already booked their place for the Super Six from Group B with three wins in as many matches, while Hong Kong (two) have won a match in two outings.

Test nation Zimbabwe (four) are currently second in the standing, while Afghanistan and Nepal have lost their three previous matches.

In Group A, Test nations Ireland and West Indies as well as Associate member the United Arab Emirates have won two matches each, while Associate nation Papua New Guinea and the Netherlands, who have already confirmed their ODI status after winning the ICC World Cricket League Championship, have lost three and two matches respectively.

Under such scenario, Nepal are in a position where they cannot afford another loss. On Saturday, Zimbabwe will face Hong Kong. Nepal will play last match of the group against Hong Kong on Monday.

Earlier, Nepal faced a 116-run defeat against hosts Zimbabwe in their opening match on Sunday and went down to Scotland by four wickets in their second match on Thursday.

However, Nepal’s skipper Paras Khadka was positive and said that the team had chance to make it to the next round. “We still have two matches in our hand and the competition is still open. We can make it to Super Six if we win our remaining matches. We will give our best against Afghanistan,” said Khadka.

This is the first occasion Nepal will be facing Afghanistan in List A match although the two Asian countries have faced each other for six times in 50-over matches. Afghanistan have upper hand as they have won five matches, while Nepal have won only one match.