KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a defeat in their recent World Cup qualifier group stage match.
In the encounter with Oman on Thursday, the Nepali team fell short by a margin of 5 runs.
Oman won Nepal by 5 runs in the match played at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur under the ICC T20 World Cup Asia Zone Qualifiers.
While chasing a target of 146 runs, the Nepali squad lost all their wickets within the stipulated 20 overs, managing to accumulate 140 runs.
Struggling towards the end, Nepal required 26 runs in the last over.
Kushal Bhurtel of Nepal contributed 26 runs, while Bivek Yadav added 39 runs to the team’s total.
However, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Zora, and Sompal Kami were dismissed after scoring 12 runs each.
Asif Shaikh’s contribution was limited to 5 runs, whereas Gulsan Jha managed to score 3 runs.
Despite this setback, Nepal has qualified for the semi-finals as the runners-up of their group, with Oman securing the top position in the group.
After winning the toss and opting to field, Nepal earlier restricted Oman to a total of 145 runs for the loss of 9 wickets within the allocated 20 overs.
Karan KC proved to be the most successful bowler for Nepal, claiming three wickets for 43 runs.
Sompal Kami and Sandeep Lamichhane also made notable contributions, each taking two wickets.
Sompal bowled economically, conceding just 16 runs in his spell, while Sandeep gave away 30 runs in 4 overs.
Additionally, Gulsan Jha and Avinash Bohara secured 1 wicket each.
A crucial moment arrived when leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane secured two consecutive wickets in the fourteenth over, providing Nepal with a significant breakthrough.
His first victim was Ayan Khan, bowled out on the first ball of the fourteenth over after scoring 18 runs. In the second ball of the same over, Mehan Khan fell victim to Sandeep’s LBW.
Moreover, Karan KC dismissed Karimullah, caught out by Sompal Kami for 5 runs in the third ball of the 20th over.
Karan also caught Nasim Khushi on the third ball of the 18th over, who had scored 25 runs with 2 fours and 2 sixes in 14 balls, before being caught by Sandeep Lamichhane.
Bohara took the wicket of captain Jason Maqsood in the fourth ball of the 15th over.
Maqsood departed after scoring 32 runs off 26 balls, with 1 four and 3 sixes to his name.
Earlier, Sompal Kami had bowled out Shoaib Khan for zero runs in the fourth ball of the sixth over, and Gulsan Jha claimed the wicket of Pratik Athavale in the last ball of the fifth over, caught out by Rohit Paudel after scoring 24 runs.
Sompal Kami continued his impressive form, dismissing Akib Ilyas for 2 runs in the first ball of the fourth over, while Karan KC removed Kashyap Kumar Prajapati for 8 runs in the fifth ball of the first over.
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