Kathmandu – Nepal kicked off the final tri-series of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 with a 52-run victory over Papua New Guinea.
Nepal’s Inning
Invited to bat first, Nepal put up an impressive total of 297 runs before losing all of their wickets in 49.1 overs. Nepal’s opener, Aasif Sheikh, scored his first International ODI century, contributing 110 runs off 110 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes. With this, he became the fifth player from Nepal to score an ODI century after Paras Khadka, Rohit Paudel, Dipendra Singh Airee, and Kushal Bhurtel.
Opener duo Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif shared a 110-run partnership before Kushal departed for 45 off 53 balls in 18.4 overs. Kushal Malla, who came in as the number 3 batsman, collected only 2 runs off 8 deliveries, while Gyanendra Malla contributed 11 runs.
Other contributors were Bhim Sharki (44), Rohit Paudel (30), Aarif Sheikh (15), Karan KC (8), Dipendra Singh Airee (7), Sandeep Lamichhane (7), and Sompal Kami (4). Semo Kamea was the pick of the PNG bowlers, taking a 5-wicket haul, giving away 38 runs. Moreover, Riley Hekure claimed 3 wickets, while Alei Nao took 1.
PNG’s Inning
In response, Nepal bowled out PNG for 245 runs in 47.1 overs, thanks to the outstanding bowling performance of Sandeep Lamichhane, who took 4 wickets expending 37 runs in 10 overs, including 1 maiden over.
Additionally, Dipendra Singh Airee claimed 2 wickets, while Kushal Malla took 1, restricting PNG’s chase total.
Lower-order batsman Norman Vanua top-scored for PNG with 60 runs, while opener Tony Ura scored the second-highest with 50 runs. Skipper Assad Vala contributed 42 runs to the tally, while Kiplin Doriga departed for 26 runs. Charles Amini (14) and Riley Hekure (20) were other batsmen to contribute in double figures. Furthermore, Chad Soper was dismissed for a golden duck, while Sese Bau scored 3, Hiri Hiri added 8, Alei Nao 2, and Semo Kame scored 5 runs.
Nepal now needs only one win out of its remaining three matches to maintain its ODI status. If Nepal succeeds in winning all three, it will qualify directly for the ODI World Cup Qualifiers.
Nepal’s next match is against UAE on Sunday, followed by a match against PNG on Monday. Finally, Nepal will conclude its ICC CWC League 2 campaign with a match against UAE on Thursday.
