Subas Humagain, Muscat
Nepal registered an impressive win over Oman in their ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers on Friday riding on superb bowling display from captain Sandeep Lamichhane, Dipendra Singh Airee and Kamal Singh Airee.
Despite weak performance in batting department, Nepal’s bowlers ensured a 39-run win over hosts Oman in their opening match. The victory has strengthened Nepal’s chances of finishing among the top two teams in Group B to qualify for the semifinals.
After a poor batting display, Nepal bundled out Oman for just 78 runs in 17 overs while they were chasing a modest target of 118 runs. Oman’s wicket keeper Naseem Khusi topscored 24 runs for the hosts.
Oman suffered an early setback when they lost opener Kashyap Prajapati for duck in the third ball of the first over. He was caught by Dipendra Singh Airee in a ball served by fast bowler Kamal Singh Airee. Wicketkeeper Asif Sheikh then caught Ayaan Khan for just 3 runs a over later.
Oman were in trouble in the sixth over when Dipendra Singh Airee removed their mainstay Jatinder Singh after an excellent throw from mid-off. Wickets started tumbling then onwards as the hosts were bundled out for just 78 runs.
Kamal Singh Airee took 3 wickets in his three-over spell giving away 15 runs. Likewise, captain Sandeep Lamichhane took 2 wickets in 4 overs giving away 20 runs. Dipendra Singh Airee took two wickets followed by one wicket each by Avinash Bohora and Jitendra Mukhiya.
Earlier, Nepal who were invited to bat first after losing the toss, scored 117 runs in 20 overs losing 8 wickets. Aarif Sheikh topscored for Nepal with 38 runs off 37 balls that included 2 boundaries. Captain Sandeep Lamichhane was unbeaten on 16 runs off 7 balls.
Oman’s spinner Khawar Ali took 3 wickets while Bilal Khan bagged 2 wickets. Likewise, Faiz Butt and Jishan Maksud took one wicket each.
Nepal will now face the Philippines in its second match on Saturday.
Nepal are drawn against Oman, Canada and the Philippines in Group B of the qualifiers while Group A included Test-playing nation Ireland, the UAE, Bahrain and Germany. The top two teams that reach the final of the 8-team competition will qualify for the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October/November.
