By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Nepal secured a resounding 84-run victory over Oman in an ongoing ACC Premier Cup at TU Cricket Ground on Friday, thanks to young allrounder Kushal Malla’s heroic maiden century innings.
Nepal’s Inning
Nepal’s 50th ODI match saw them posting their highest total in ODI so far, with 310 runs losing 8 wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
Invited to bat first, Nepal had a shaky start to the inning, losing both openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh for 0. However, skipper Rohit Poudel and Bhim Sharki steadied the ship with a 54-run partnership for the third wicket. Later, Rohit got caught by Kashyap Prajapati off Fayyaz Butt’s delivery in 17.1 over.
Bhim collected 33 runs off 56 deliveries, while Rohit scored 23 off 34 before Aarif Sheikh added 29 runs off 43 balls to the total.
After Bhim’s departure, Kushal Malla stepped up to score his maiden century. Smashing 10 sixes and 9 fours off 64 deliveries, Kushal contributed 108 runs to the tally and shared a 75-run partnership with Aarif Sheikh for the fall of the 5th wicket.
Sompal Kami and Karan KC also contributed with a 61-run partnership for the unbroken 9th wicket. Sompal played a half-century inning collecting 63 runs off 48 deliveries with 9 fours while Karan scored 29 runs off 15.
Moreover, Dipendra Singh Airee and Sandeep Lamichhane left the crease for 7 and 8 runs respectively.
Oman’s Ayaan Khan picked up 2 wickets, while Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah, Zeeshan Maqsood, Fayyaz Butt, Aqib Ilyas, and Jatinder Singh took one wicket each.
Oman’s Inning
In response, Nepal packed Oman for 226 runs in 46.3 overs with Nepal’s spinner Sandeep Lamichhane achieving a historic milestone by becoming the fastest player in the world to pick 100 ODI wickets. He took his 100th wicket in the form of Oman’s opener Kashyap Prajapati in 14.1 overs, playing just 42 games.
Oman’s Mohammad Nadeem top-scored with 65 runs off 84 deliveries for the losing side. With openers Kashyap Prajapati and Jatinder Singh departing for 15 and 13 runs respectively, skipper Zeeshan Maqsoon left the crease for a duck out.
Adeel Shafique (13), Ayaan Khan (29), Sandeep Goud (46), Fayyaz Butt (19), and Kaleemullah (2) were the other contributors. While Bilal Khan remained not out for 1, Aqib Ilyas got retired out.
Sandeep was the pick of Nepal’s bowlers, claiming 3-45 in 8 overs, while Karan KC, Dipendra Singh Airee, and Lalit Rajbanshi took 3, 2, and 1 wicket(s) respectively.
With this victory, Nepal moved a step closer to the semifinals, having already defeated Malaysia by 6 wickets. Nepal’s next outing is against Saudi on Monday.
