The Nepalese Cricket Team has suffered a defeat against Oman in the final league stage match of ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier. With a loss, Nepal finished second in the Group A while Oman finished at the top.
Nepal will now face the winner of Group B – UAE in the semifinal match. The winner of the match will book a place in the final and punch the ticket of T20 World Cup 2024.
Chasing a target of 146 runs, Nepal could mange only 140 runs falling short by five runs. Twenty six runs were required from Bilal Khan’s last over. Bibek Yadav smacked three consecutive sixes to bring back Nepal in the contest. However, He was dismissed in the fourth ball.
Abinash Bohara came and took a single giving Karan KC a chance to seal a win with a six. Unfortunetly KC couldn’t clear the field and was caught out at long on.
Nepal lost three wickets within the powerplay having 43 runs on the board. Aasif Sheikh (5), Sompal Kami (12) and Kushal Bhurtel (26) were the batters to depart. Bibek Yadav top scored with 39 runs hammering five biggest. Karan KC also added 15 runs.
No other batters could make a significant contributions as Nepal fell short in the contest.
For Oman, Bilal Khan did the terrific job conceding just 10 runs from his first three overs but ended up with a figure of 4-0-30-3. Shakeel Ahmed, Mehran Khan and Aqib Ilyas picked up two wickets each.
Earlier, Oman posted a score of 145/9 after being invited to bat first. Oman racked up 17 runs from the last over to make a target more competitive.
Oman also had an awful start losing four wickets withing the powerplay having just 38 runs on the board. Skipper Zeeshan Maqsood top scored with 32 runs while Naseem Khusi notched up quick 14-ball 25. Shakeel Ahmed was the man to stretch Oman’s total with an unbeaten 22 runs from 17 balls. Opener Pratik Athavale also played a good cameo of 24 runs.
For Nepal, Karan KC picked up the highest three wickets (4-0-43-3). Sandeep Lamichhane and Sompal Kami picked up two wickets each while Abinash Bohara and Gulshan Jha pocketed one apiece.
