Nepal defeated Papua New Guinea by three wickets in ICC Men’s World Cup Cricket League 2 on Friday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Nepal completed the tricky chase of 180 runs set by Papua New Guinea in 48 overs after a match-winning partnership of unbeaten 77 runs between Aasif Sheikh and Sandeep Lamichhane.
Aasif Sheikh played a crucial match-winning knock of 86(130) and stayed there until the end and build good partnerships.
🏏 32(64) with B Sharki
🏏 21 (31) with Airee
🏏 31 (54) with Kushal Malla
🏏 77*(96) with Lamichhane pic.twitter.com/sU9FjzY1Nk— cricnepal.com 🇳🇵 🦏 (@cricnepal) March 3, 2023
Aasif Sheikh contributed 86 runs in Nepal’s victory. He hit two fours and a six in his unbeaten innings from 130 balls.
Sheikh held the innings from one end and managed his first half-century against the opponent in 88 balls with 1 six.
He has now recorded the seventh fifties in ODI cricket. Similarly, Sandeep Lamichhane scored an unbeaten 35 runs with three boundaries.
Lamichhane also broke his own batting record today. He scored his highest score in the ODI surpassing the previous highest of 28 made against Oman.
From 7-105 (31.6 ov) to remain calm and composed, Aasif and Sandeep produced a calm and composed 77* runs partnership, which shield the match for #Nepal. pic.twitter.com/uiKTxRmlx9
— cricnepal.com 🇳🇵 🦏 (@cricnepal) March 3, 2023
Nepal were struggling at 105 for 7 at the end of 32 overs. However, Lamichhane gave solid company to Sheikh to produce a match-winning 77 runs partnership for the eight-wicket. They played 96 deliveries and managed 34 singles, 9 twos, and five boundaries to clinch the victory.
Sheikh also had a 32(64) run partnership with Bhim Sharki, 21(31) runs with Dipendra Singh Airee and 31(54) with Kushal Malla before the eight-wicket.
Meanwhile, Kushal Malla also contributed 23 runs off 26 balls.
After losing opener Kushal Bhurtel in the very first ball, Nepal lost Gyanendra Malla for six runs. Similarly, Bhim Sarki scored only eight runs, and captain Rohit Paudel and Arif Sheikh scored one run each. Dipendra Singh Airee disappointed the fans with the score of eight runs.
Airee hit an unbeaten 85 runs against Scotland at home last month and has struggled since with batting scores of 1, 7, 22, 7, and 8 in the last 5 ODIs.
Dipendra Airee after hitting 85* against Scotland has struggled with the form. He scored 8 from 16 balls in today's knock against PNG. #ICC #CWCL2 #ODI #DSAiree pic.twitter.com/IcVQVIqFsS
— cricnepal.com 🇳🇵 🦏 (@cricnepal) March 3, 2023
Papua New Guinea captain Assad Vala was the pick of the bowlers, taking three scalps. Semo Kamiya and Sese Bau grabbed two wickets each.
Earlier, Papua New Guinea, who won the toss and chose to bat first, lost all wickets in 49.2 overs and made a total of 179 runs.
Tony Ura contributed the most 39 runs for PNG. Similarly, Kiplin Doriga scored 26 runs while Hiri Hiri was dismissed for 29 runs. Gaudi Toka scored 15 runs and Norman Bhanuwa scored 14 runs. Sese Bau and captain Asad Vala contributed 11 runs each.
Sompal Kami and Dipendra Singh Airee share two wickets each while Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane and Karan KC grabbed wicket apiece.
With this victory, Nepal is in sixth place with 14 wins and 15 losses in 31 matches. Papua New Guinea is at the bottom of the table with 7 points from 31 matches.
