Nepal has been beaten by Namibia in the third match of CWC League Two, Tri-series hosted by Scotland. Nepal crumbled for mere 136 runs after bowling out Namibia for 199. Nepal were unable to chase 221 in the previous match against Namibia, falling 40 runs short.
Chasing 200 runs, Kushal Bhurtel walked back for a duck in the first over. Nepal never looked stable and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Dev Khanal was the next man to depart – in a bit of a controversial way. Despite signaling for Six, the umpire took a long time and gave out after the discussion. Aasif who was in good touch yet again notched up 34 runs from 32 balls before Scholtz dismissed him.
Rohit Paudel’s long stay at the crease ended on 17 from 50 balls after being caught behind, Aarif too was dismissed swiftly as Nepal lost five wickets for 82 runs. Dipendra Singh Airee and Aadil Aalam (20) showed some hope, building a partnership, although Adil’s dismissal saw Nepal collapse. Nepal managed just 4 runs from the last three batters after the dismissal of Dipendra Singh Airee for 38 runs. Basir Ahamad and Sandeep Lamichhane were dismissed for a duck to wrap up the inning.
Bernard Scholtz was the hero for Namibia taking a fifer from 9.2 overs, bowling two maiden overs, and conceding just 22 runs. Jan Frylinck picked up three whereas Gerhard Erasmus grabbed one.
Earlier in the first inning, Namibia posted a fine total despite a shaky start. Namibia were three down for just 39 runs after the first powerplay. Sompal Kami knocked over Lo-handre Louwrens in the second over while skipper Lamichhane dismissed Craig Williams before Sompal yielded the third wicket sending back dangerous Divan la Cock for 27 runs.
Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (19) and skipper Gerhard Erasmus then shared 69 runs for the fourth wicket boosting Namibia’s inning, however, two swift wickets bought Nepal back on top again. Erasmus scored 53 runs from 70 deliveries. Dawid Wiese and JJ Smit added valuable 39 runs for the seventh wicket, scoring 27 and 34 runs respectively. Wiese added 43 more runs with Ruben Trumpelmann, who assisted 19 runs.
Dipendra Singh Airee picked up a couple of wickets, at last, to wrap up Namibia for 199 in 49.2 overs. Sandeep Lamichhane once again was the pick of a bowler for Nepal grabbing two wickets from his full spell, conceding just 29 runs. Sompal Kami grabbed two wickets whilst Basir Ahamad pocketed one wicket.
