The Nepal A team levelled the series 1-1 against Canada XI after winning the second match on Tuesday. Nepal bagged a two-wicket victory in a thrilling chase at Mulpani Cricket Ground.
Sundeep Jora led the team in Binod Bhandari’s absence. Jora himself and Basir Ahamad scored a half-century to confirm Nepal’s win. The final match of the series will be played on February 22.
Following a target of 241 runs, Nepal completed a chase with just five balls spare losing eight wickets. Mayan Yadav was dismissed in the very first ball of the inning while Sher Malla (7) walked back in the third over as Nepal were 13/2. Arjun Kumal and Sundeep Jora then shared 104 runs for the third wicket to uplift Nepal’s inning. Arjun and Sundeep were dismissed in the span of two balls span. Arjun scored 40 runs whereas Sundeep top-scored with 66 runs (including seven fours and one sixes).
A 77-run stand between Rashid Khan and Basir Ahamad for the sixth wicket was a game-changer for Nepal. Rashid notched up 51-ball 47 with three fours and two sixes. Meanwhile, Basir stayed till the end and completed a back-to-back half-century. He scored 52* runs from 73 balls and scored the winning run in 49.1 overs.
For Canada, Shahid Ahmadzai, Ammor Khalid and Nikhil Dutta picked up two wickets each. Harsh Thaker and Saad Bin Zafar also grabbed one wicket each.
Earlier in the first inning, Canada XI posted a decent total of 241 runs before being bowled out in 49.5 overs.
Invited to bat first, the Canadian opener did a terrific job. Aaron Johnson and Srimantha Wijeyeratne yielded a brilliant start adding 64 runs before Sagar Dhakal trapped Johnson LBW for 36 in 11.3 overs. They were soon down to 104/4 in the 23rd over after quick scalps from the Nepalese spinners. Wijeyeratne scored 41 runs whilst Nicholas Kirton (7) and Harsh Thaker (8) were sent back cheaply.
Navneet Dhaliwal and Shreyas Movva then shared 66 runs for the fifth wicket. Dhaliwal scored 46 runs with six fours and one six. Shreyas Movva played a sensible innings and scored 68 runs before being dismissed in the last over. Dilon Heyliger also contributed 16 runs.
For Nepal, Shahab Alam was the pick of bowler. He grabbed three wickets and ended with a figure of 10-1-38-3. Sher Malla and Rashid Khan bagged two wickets each. Similarly, Basir Ahamad and Sagar Dhakal also took one wicket apiece.
