Thursday 19 / September / 2024
Muscat: Kushal Malla and Sandeep Lamichhane shone with bat and ball respectively as Nepal defeated Oman by a huge margin of 84 runs in a Group A match of the ACC Men's Premier Cup at TU Cricket Ground in Kathmandu on Thursday.
Malla slammed his maiden century (108 off 64 balls) while Lamichhane picked up three for 45 to give the hosts their second successful win to lead the table.
Chasing a mammoth target of 311 after Nepal recovered amazingly from 0 for the loss to two wickets to reach 310/8 in 50 overs, Oman failed to find an answer to the strong Nepal bowling attack as they were bowled out for 226 in 46.3 overs.
Mohammed Nadeem and Sandeep Goud were the only notable batters who put up a good fight. Nadeem hit an 84-ball 65 that included seven boundaries and a six while Goode made a 56-ball 46 that had three boundaries and two maximums.
The duo shared a crucial 96-run stand in nearly 20 overs after Oman were left struggling at 99/5 in the 23rd over.
Opener Jatinder Singh departed early and a wrist injury to star batter Aqib Ilyas meant that Adeel Shafique was promoted up the order. Lamichhane struck a double blow in the 13th over when he had Shafique leg-before and skipper Zeeshan Maqsood bowled into a space of three balls to put Oman on the back foot.
Oman were down to 52/3 and Kashyap Prajapati was Lamichhane's third wicket as Oman's top-order was back in hut for 55.
Ayaan Khan, who had hit a half-century in Oman's opening win against Qatar, along with Nadeem shared a 44-run stand before departing with the team's score at 99. Nadeem and Goud then joined hands after Ayaan left for 29 to take the team to 195 in 41 overs.
Goud and Nadeem were dismissed in quick succession to extinguish any hopes for a successful chase. With Ilyas unable to bat, a major worry for the forthcoming games, Oman were out for 226 in 47th over.
Karan KC was the other successful bowler with three for 62 while Dipendra Singh Airee took 2/29.
Earlier, Oman pacers Bilal Khan and Kaleemullah gave the team a dream start as the hosts were reduced to zero for loss of two wickets with Bilal dismissing Kushal Bhurtel and Kaleemullah castling Aasif Sheikh.
The early joy for Oman didn't last long as the Nepal batters took the attack to the rival end with a 54-run third wicket between skipper Rohit Paudel and Bhim Sharki. Their exits got Malla and Aarif Sheikh together and the duo stitched a 72-run stand to lay a platform for a big total.
Malla, in particular, displays an array of strokes around the ground as he hammered ten sixes and nine boundaries.
Along with Sompal Kami, who scored a 48-ball 63 with nine hits to the ropes they shared a 49-run partnership before Karan 15-ball 29 took the team past 300-mark as the hosts finished at 310/8, their highest score in a 50-over match.
Ayaan Khan was the most successful bowler with 2/46 as Oman tried out seven bowlers and the remaining six picked a wicket apiece.
Oman are third in the Group A standings with Nepal on top with four points. Malaysia (+0.936) are above Oman (-0.440) on better net run-rate with both teams having two points each. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have yet to open their account.
Oman next play Malaysia on April 23, Sunday at Mulpani Cricket Ground
In Group B, Hong Kong lead the standings with 4 points while Bahrain and the UAE have two points each. Singapore and Kuwait have zero points.
The winner of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup will reach the Asia Cup.
Brief scores: Nepal 310/8 (Kushal Malla 108, Sompal Kami 63, Bhim Sharki 33, Aarif Sheikh 29; Ayaan Khan 2/46) beat Oman 226 in 46.3 overs (Mohammed Nadeem 65, Sandeep Goud 46, Ayaan Khan 29, Kashyap Prajapati 25; Sandeep Lamichhane 3/45, Karan KC 3/62, Dipendre Singh Airee 2/29)
