The Nepali team managed to defeat Oman after Asif Sheikh, who was dropped in the previous match, and Gulshan Jha, who had failed to take a wicket in four consecutive matches, performed well.
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Asif Sheikh was dropped in Nepal's last match on Friday due to poor form. Gulshan Jha had not taken a wicket in the last 4 matches. He did not bowl in one of them.
With the brilliance of these two players, Nepal defeated Oman by 81 runs on Tuesday in the Cricket World Cup League 2. Nepal, which won the toss after Asif scored 94 runs at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, was all out for 256 runs in 49.5 overs before one ball. After Gulshan took 5 wickets, Nepal bundled out Oman for 175 runs in 39.5 overs.
This is the first time Nepal has defeated Oman in League 2 in Kirtipur. Oman had defeated Nepal three times before that on its home ground. This win keeps Nepal's chances of retaining its One Day International status alive. This is Nepal's third win in this series. Nepal has 18 points from 24 matches and the team remains in seventh place. Oman is in third place with 31 points from 28 matches.
In the eight-nation League 2, the USA are in the top six with 36 points from 24 matches, Scotland 34 from 28 matches, Netherlands 28 from 24 matches, Namibia 22 from 28 matches and Canada 21 from 24 matches. The UAE is at the bottom with 14 points from 24 matches. The top four teams in League 2 will advance to the World Cup qualifiers.
Asif had earlier hit 7 fours and 5 sixes in 97 balls. This is his second highest score in ODIs. He missed out on his second century after being caught on the boundary line. ‘That ball came in the same area where I shot and I hit it well, but it didn’t go outside the boundary line,’ Asif said, ‘I am sad not to score a century, but the important thing is that Nepal has won, I am happy with that.’
Asif, who opened his personal account after facing 12 balls, completed his half-century in 66 balls. This is his 14th half-century in ODIs. He scored his first half-century in an ODI since scoring 52 against the USA in Dallas in October 2024. He has played 12 matches since then. He was dropped in the previous match against the UAE after scoring just 7 and 19 runs in the first two matches of League 2 against the UAE and Oman respectively.
Oman started the first over with spinners. After Devrehate spinner Shakil Ahmed bowled a maiden in the first over, Jiten Ramanandi caught Binod Bhandari for a duck in the first ball of the second over. Then Asif and Arjun Kumal put on a strong partnership of 123 runs for the second wicket. Arjun, who was playing the second match, scored 48 runs. He hit 4 fours in 87 balls. Arjun was on 5 runs off 23 balls when he got the gift of life. Nadeem Khan dropped his catch at short third. Arjun hit a four in the next ball. Despite that, Nepal could only score 29 runs in the 10-over power play.
Captain Rohit Poudel, who came to the crease in the 28th over, was out for 9 runs. Gulshan scored 17 runs with 2 fours in 23 balls. Vice-captain Deependra Singh Airi added 33 runs. He hit 1 four in 42 balls. Karan KC was out on the first ball, while Nandan Yadav was out for 2 and Sandeep Lamichhane for 1, putting Nepal under pressure.
Arif Sheikh was out last. He scored 43 runs in 23 balls. He hit Hasnain Shah for three consecutive sixes in the last over. Nadeem Khan took 3 wickets for Oman. He spent 41 runs in 10 overs. Shah and Shakil took 2 wickets each.
Gulshan had taken 5 wickets against Oman in Canada in September 2024. He repeated the same performance in Kirtipur, taking 5 wickets in a single ODI for the second time. ‘This wicket is different from the past, it is making good runs, but it seems like the fast bowlers have been able to take wickets because of their disciplined bowling,’ said Gulshan, ‘Our bowling was very good today. It was easy to get wickets from the beginning.’
Gulshan spent 38 runs in 9 overs for 5 wickets. This is his personal best bowling performance. Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan, Deependra and Nandan took 1 wicket each. In the previous match against Nepal, Oman captain Jatinder Singh, who had scored 130 runs, was dismissed by Nandan for 12 runs in the seventh over and started taking wickets. Nandan immediately ran out Siddharth Bukkapatnam (0) with a straight throw, giving Nepal its second success.
Opener Hasnain-ul-Wahhab was dismissed for 29 runs. He hit 3 fours and 1 six in 43 balls. Hamad Mirza scored 34 off 51 balls with 4 fours, Vinayak Shukla scored 36 off 41 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes, and Hasnain Shah scored 14 off 10 balls. Nepal will now play the League 2 series against the USA and Scotland next week.
