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.
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