Kathmandu, February 18
Beating Oman by 39 runs in the first match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers, Nepal have started the tournament off with a bang at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Al Amerat.
Winning the toss, Oman put Nepal into bat, a decision which proved to be right as Nepali batters struggled to get going. Bilal Khan got Aasif Sheikh in the first over of the match while Kushal Bhurtel did not last long either. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals with only Aarif Sheikh making a notable score of 38 helping Nepal to a modest total of 117.
Oman bowlers were impressive with their line and length. Kaleemullah, Oman’s medium pacer was particularly good even though he did not pick up any wicket.
Chasing 118, Oman struggled a lot from the get-go. They lost Kashyap Prajapati in the first over to Kamal Singh Airee and Ayaan Khan in the second over to Jitendra Mukhiya, after which they started to bat sensibly. But when Jatindar Sigh was run out by Dipendra Singh Airee in the sixth over, things started to look better for Nepal.
Nepali bowlers gave nothing to the Omanis as they kept chipping away with wickets in crucial times thanks to spinners Sandeep Lamichhane and Dipendra Singh Airee who reduced Oman to 35 for six.
Naseem Kushi, who hit two sixes of Lamichhane, was looking the only threat to Nepal but when he was bowled by the Nepali captain, the game was all but over. Kamal Singh Airee came back and finished off the tail in the 17th over as Oman were all out for only 78 runs.
With this win, Nepal have a chance to finish as group winners if they manage to beat Canada and the Philippines.
