Nepal national cricket team is set to play against Zimbabwe in a tournament opener of Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 on Sunday. The match against Zimbabwe will be Nepal’s first ODI match against Test playing nation.
The much awaited match starts at 12:45 PM NST and will be played at Harare Sports Club.
After getting an ODI status in 2018, Nepal has played 51 ODI matches but they were yet to face Test playing nation in the format. The match scheduled for June 18 against the host Zimbabwe will mark Nepal’s maiden encounter with a Test-playing nation in an ODI match. Following that, on June 22, Nepal will take on West Indies, which will be their second match against a Test-playing team and their first encounter with the reigning World Cup champions in the ODI format.
The tournament is scheduled to take place between June 18th and July 9th. The top three teams from both groups will advance to the Super Six stage. In the Super Six, those teams will face each other, and the two teams with the highest rankings will proceed to the final. Both finalists will secure their spots in the Cricket World Cup 2023.
Nepal is placed in Group A of the tournament alongside West Indies, Zimbabwe, Netherlands and USA. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, Oman, UAE, Ireland and Scotland are in Group B.
Since gaining ODI status after the end of Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 in Zimbabwe itself, Nepal has played 51 ODI matches – won 28 games, suffered 21 defeats, experienced one tie, and had one match abandoned due to rain.
Nepal’s list of ODI matches played so far:
vs UAE – 14
vs PNG – 10
vs Oman – 7
vs USA – 6
vs Namibia – 6
vs Scotland – 6
vs Netherlands – 2
