Skipper Zeeshan Maqsood’s terrific all-round performance have helped Oman beat Nepal on Thursday. Having faced a defeat against the USA in a previous match, Oman registered a narrow 13-run win against Nepal.
Opting to bat first at Pearland, Oman lost Kashyap Prajapati in the very first ball of the inning. Karan Kc and Sandeep Lamichhane’s solid bowling spell saw Oman lose their 5th wicket for 86 runs after the halfway mark of the first inning. However, Zeeshan Maqsood had different plans, He shared 60 runs with Khawar Ali (30) for the 6th wicket. Moreover, the southpaw added 28 runs each with Suraj Kumar and Fayazz Butt for the 7th and 8th wicket respectively. Maqsood remained unbeaten for 104 from 112 balls scoring 12 boundaries as Oman posted a respectful total of 211 from the allotted 50 overs.
Karan Kc was a pick of a bowler for Nepal as he grabbed the first fifer of his ODI career, Only Sompal Kami and Sandeep Lamichhane have achieved the feat before. Lamichhane picked up a couple of wickets whereas Sompal took 1.
In reply, Nepal too had a shaky start losing Subash Khakurel for just 3 runs in the third over. Dhamala then was sent back by Maqsood after his sluggish 12 runs. Nepal lost 3 important wickets of Rohit Paudel (20), Dev Khanal (34), and Dipendra Singh Airee(16) in 33 runs span which put them in more trouble. Aarif Sheikh then tried his best scoring 66 runs, yet he was unable to take Nepal home because of no further support from other batsmen. Eventually, Nepal were bowled out for 198 in 49.4 overs.
Oman’s skipper Zeeshan Maqsood and Khawar Ali were Nepal’s villains in the bowling department too. Both grabbed 3 wickets each conceding 37 and 47 runs respectively. Left Arm pacer, Bilal Khan took 2 wickets while Aayan Khan also grabbed one. Zeeshan Maqsood was adjudged as player of the match for his sensational all-around performance.
Nepal will play against the host USA on Saturday at the same venue. The USA who defeated Oman by 114 runs in the first inning will look for their second victory whilst Nepal will try to break the deadlock.
Feature Image Credit: Oman Cricket
