Oman upsets Nepal in a thriller

The men’s national cricket team of Nepal slumped to a second consecutive defeat in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 in Canada.

In a thrilling finish Oman registered an  upset 1 wicket victory over Nepal in a nail biting encounter  in the final over of the match.

The highlight of the match was  Nepal’s speedster Gulshan Jha’s brilliant all round performance.He was  awarded man of the match  for scoring 53 runs and scalping 5 wickets.

The other highlight was skipper Rohit Paudel’s  scintillating knock of  60 runs which was the  top individual score in the match.Unfortunately,the duo's valiant efforts went in vain.

Oman stubbornly hung on to edge out the opposition at the end.The game was in balance  until the last over of the match,and it was any one’s match.

Oman needed 11 runs to prove oddsmakers  wrong,while Nepal’s quest  for their first victory  in the series depended on the last wicket. 

The bowling duo of slow left arm orthodox Shakeel Ahmad(17) and  right arm medium Kaleemullah (6) kept their cool under tremendous pressure, displayed dogged determination and brilliantly  batted through the  critical last  three overs to  frustrate the opposition and, more importantly,ensure their team a hard earned victory.

On the other hand, it was a frustrating day of cricket for Nepal who were inching towards victory but narrowly fell short to close out the match. 

Experienced medium pacer Sompal Kami who took charge of  the last over was not in his element on the day.He bowled poorly by his standards but made some amends scoring a handy 20 runs.

He went wicketless and conceded a flurry of 4s in the last over which eventually paved the way for Oman”s victory.

Team Nepal went into the match as favorites and were expected to win. Batting first  the top order batters were in familiar territory as they struggled and failed to give the team the much needed head start.

The prospect  of a paltry total lurked on the horizon,following the loss of three quick wickets  for 31 runs.

However,Paudel and Aarif Sheikh's crucial 83 runs partnership for the fourth wicket rescued the innings from an embarrassing collapse.

Paudel batted fluently  to crack 60 runs with  the help of 2 fours and 4 sixes,while Sheikh labored hard to score 35 runs with a solitary 4 off 88 balls.Nonetheless,his innings was important under the circumstances.

The innings was bolstered with the arrival of quickie Jha to join Paudel.He  was on  top of the bowlers and put in quite a show by batting aggressively.

In an exhibition  of hard hitting, he smashed 53 runs  off just 35 balls.He belted 3 fours and 5 towering sixes. 

At the end of 50 overs they managed to post a competitive total of 220 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.

It was left to  the Nepali bowlers to finish the job.They had plenty of room to defend the total, and it was important for them to make an early breakthrough to exert pressure and keep batters on the backfoot for as long as possible.

Oman openers Kashyap Prajapati(36 runs) and Jatinder Singh(41 runs)  foiled the opponent’s gameplan.They had the bowlers against the ropes as they battled,resorting to a defiant opening  stand  of 75 runs for the first wicket.The other batters followed suit and kept the momentum going.

Nepali bowlers rebounded by taking wickets at regular intervals largely because of Jha and Karan KC who accounted for  5  and 2 wickets respectively.They put pressure back  on batters and took the match down to the wire.

Star leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane did make the initial breakthrough but was unable to generate the viciousness in the later part of his bowling spell. He did his best on a pitch that favored pace bowlers.

After two straight losses,winless Nepal  has been reduced to a desperate position and their qualifying hopes for  the final round is in tatters at the moment.

The batters are  clearly lacking  consistency, commitment,mental fortitude,confidence and match temperament.They have to overcome the shortcomings and play to their  potential to make an impact.

There is a need for bowlers to  apply themselves further, put in extra  effort and be  totally focused on their bowling.

 

The fielding that  has looked sloppy and ragged at times must  improve significantly.They cannot afford to gift opponents  bonus runs.

The results are not what we  expected.

There is an urgent need to improve the performance,assess and re-evaluate the team’s approach for the upcoming matches.

With two matches on hand,Nepal must settle down, reinvent themselves  and rebound  with  a vengeance against the same opponents.  

Certainly, it is doable but they will require a determined collective effort to deliver the results.