Kathmandu. Nepal lost to Oman by five wickets in the second match of the ICC Cricket World Cup League II triangular series.
After opener Jatinder Singh hit a century, Oman met the target of 197 runs set by Nepal by losing 5 wickets in 31.1 overs.
Singh played 62 balls and scored 107 runs with the help of 12 fours and 6 sixes. Jatindra hit 30 runs to Sompal Kami of Nepal in the fifth over of the match. Sompal hit three fours and three sixes in the over.
Debutant Ian Khan added 18 runs. Another debutant opener Soeb Khan was dismissed for 7 in the fourth over. But Jatinder and Ian shared 91 runs for the second wicket. Jatinder and Mohammad Nadim shared 40 runs for the fourth wicket.
After scoring a century, Rohit Poudel dismissed Jatindra in the 26th over with an excellent catch by Kushal Malla. Captain Jason Maqsood was out for 4 runs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Suraj Kumar was dismissed for 20 runs.
Mohammad Nadim scored an unbeaten 38 runs. Playing 65 balls, Nadim hit 2 fours and 1 six.
In bowling, Kushal Malla took 2 wickets for 38 runs in 10 overs. Similarly, Karan KC, who took 2 wickets, scored 52 runs in 5 overs. Susan Bhari took 1 wicket for 40 runs in 10 overs with 1 maiden.
Spinner Sandeep Lamichhane did not bowl as he was injured during fielding.
Earlier, Nepal won the toss and elected to bat at Al Amaret Cricket Ground in Muscat.
Opener Asif Sheikh scored the highest 90 runs for Nepal. He hit seven fours and one six off 112 balls in his first ODI half-century. Similarly, captain Gyanendra Malla and Karan KC scored 21 runs each, Rohit Poudel scored 20 runs and Sandeep Lamichhane scored 16 runs. The rest of the players could not score double figures.
Opener Kushal Bhurtel, who scored the most runs in Nepal’s victory against the United States, was dismissed without opening an account against Oman. Bhurtel was caught by Oman’s Bilal Khan in the second ball of the first over by wicketkeeper Sujar Kumar.
After that, Asif and captain Gyanendra led Nepal’s innings and shared 57 runs for the second wicket. But after Gyanendra was dismissed in the 12th over, Nepal continued to lose wickets from one side.
Gyanendra was out for 21 runs. Rohit Kumar Poudel, who came earlier, did not stay at the crease for long. He added 20 runs in double digits but was dismissed for 20 runs.
Asif and Rohit shared 42 runs for the third wicket. Even though Asif held the innings from one side, Nepal could not bat the entire innings after losing wickets continuously from the other side.
Asif was bowled by Bilal Khan in the 36th over. Binod Bhandari (6), Sompal Kami (7), Kushal Malla (4) and Bikram Sob (2) were out for runs.
After losing 8 wickets for 156 runs, Sandeep Lamichhane and Karan KC tried to handle Nepal’s innings. But in the last ball of the 40th over, Oman’s Sandeep Gaud ran out Nepal’s Sandeep. Sandeep Lamichhane added 16 runs off 10 balls with the help of 1 six and 1 four.
After losing 9 wickets in 173 overs, Karan KC was holding Nepal’s innings. But after Karan was dismissed in the 48th over, Nepal’s innings ended 14 balls ahead.
Bilal Khan was the top wicket taker for Oman with 4 wickets. He bowled 10 overs and scored 47 runs with 1 maid.
Similarly, debutant Nestor Dhamba bowled 5 overs and took 2 wickets for 25 runs. Captain Jisan Maqsood and Mohammad Nadim took 1-1 wickets.
Nepal defeated USA by 5 wickets in the first match on Monday and suffered its first defeat in the series. This is Nepal’s third consecutive defeat against Oman in ODIs.
After beating Nepal, Oman, which is at the top of League 2, has added 18 points from 11 games. Nepal is in the sixth position with 6 points from 6 games.
