Oman's national team began their Cricket World Cup League 2 build-up with a 70-run win over Nepal A in the first 50-over practice match at Upper Mulpani on Wednesday.
Batting first after winning the toss, Oman posted 280 for 9 in their 50 overs. Captain Jatinder Singh gave them a strong start with 58 off 48 balls, hitting nine fours and a six, while Ashish Odedara made 27 as the pair added 79 for the opening wicket.
Nepal A struck back through Santosh Yadav, who dismissed both openers and finished with 2 for 15 in six overs. Shahab Alam then removed Hammad Mirza, but Oman regained control through a 91-run stand for the fourth wicket between Mujibur Ali and Hashir Dafedar.
Mujibur made 72 off 85 balls with four fours and three sixes, while Dafedar added 46 off 41 with three fours and three sixes. Late runs from Vinayak Shukla, Jiten Kumar Ramanandi and the lower order took Oman to a strong total. Aakash Chand was Nepal A’s best bowler with 4 for 31 in nine overs, cleaning up the lower order after earlier breakthroughs.
Nepal A started the chase positively. Captain Anil Sah made 50 off 64 balls and shared an 84-run opening stand with Trit Raj Das, who scored 31. Dev Khanal then added 43, and Ishan Pandey made 52 as Nepal A stayed in the contest through the middle overs.
The key passage came with Dev and Ishan putting together an 86-run third-wicket stand. But once that partnership was broken, Nepal A lost wickets too regularly to threaten the target. Sundeep Jora made 11, Kushal Malla managed 1, Santosh Yadav was dismissed for a duck and Rashid Khan made 1 as the innings faded.
Oman’s bowlers shared the wickets well. Shakeel Ahmed was the standout with 3 for 8 in four overs, while Nadeem Khan and Mujibur Ali picked up two wickets each. Nepal A were eventually bowled out for 210 in 44.4 overs.
The two sides will meet again in a second practice match on Friday before League 2 action involving Nepal, Oman and UAE begins on Saturday.
