By a Staff Reporter
Dubai – Nepal posted a fifth win in a row defeating Papua New Guinea by 4 wickets in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Prior to this, Nepal recorded four wins from four matches at home, beating Namibia and Scotland twice.

Invited to bat first, Papua New Guinea could only manage a total of 203/9 in 50 overs. Nepal’s Gulshan Jha led the bowling attack, taking 3-28 in 9 overs, while Kushal Malla claimed 2 wickets and Sompal Kami, Karan KC, and Pratish GC took one wicket each.
Assad Vala and Chad Soper were the top scorers for PNG, collecting 36 runs each. Sese Bau added 31 runs before getting bowled out by Gulsan. Kiplin Doriga 29, Norman Vanua 25, and Hiri Hiri 10 also contributed with double-digit scores.

Other batsmen Tony Ura 2, Charles Amini 6, Riley Hekure 7, Alei Nao 1, and Semo Kamea managed to add 2 runs.
In response, Kushal Bhurtel’s half-century helped Nepal chase the target of 204 runs and secure the win scoring 207 in 45.2 overs, losing 6 wickets. Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh, who opened with the innings were the pick of Nepal batting contributing 56 and 44 runs respectively.

Gyanendra Malla, the experienced player, could only add 4 runs off 10 deliveries after coming in to bat following Aasif’s dismissal.
Moreover, Skipper Rohit Paudel 20, Aarif Sheikh 33, and Dipendra Singh Airee contributed 22 runs to Nepal’s total. Kushal Malla and Sompal Kami remained unbeaten on 12 and 5 runs respectively. PNG’s Assad Vala took 3 wickets, while Norman Vanua and Sese Bau claimed a wicket each.
Nepal will next take on UAE on March 2. Similarly, Nepal will face PNG for the second tiem on March 3, and UAE on March 6 to complete the UAE tour.