Nepal defeated the United States of America in comfortable fashion, beating them by 9 wickets at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Friday (Match 105/106, ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2), showing how dominant they can be on home soil. It was convincing, dominating and — for a Nepal side facing the proverbial exit door — extremely important.
USA Bowled Out for 195
The USA were dismissed for a lowly 195, and Nepal chased that down with ease, finishing at 199 for one from just 36.4 overs — still with 80 balls to spare.
The USA had won the toss and opted to bat first at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground. That was a decision they would soon come to regret. Nepal’s disciplined bowling unit led by Sandeep Lamichhane and Dipendra Singh Airee upfront met the stern challenge posed by an American batting line-up, on a surface that incentivised their spinners. Outlook India
Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane is the highest wicket taker in the ICC CWC League 2, having taken 35 scalps while Dipendra Singh Airee has been Nepal’s leading run scorer in the tournament, scoring a total of 675 runs.
Kushal Bhurtel: The Match-Winner
The pursuit, which was basically a one-horse race. Kushal Bhurtel Player of Match Kushal Bhurtel’s 120* off just 118 balls was scintillating as he anchored the run chase throughout and kept the USA bowlers at bay right from the start. His century without loss was a compelling exhibition of powerful shuffle-and-brilo batting tempered with clever cricket to guarantee that Nepal cruised the finish line, with overs and wickets remaining on both fronts.
Tournament Context: Nepal Fighting Back
The victory comes at an important juncture for both teams. The USA came into the match sitting second in the standings with 18 wins from 25 games and needed another win to get back to first place. Nepal, in seventh place and needing points to maintain their ODI-status hopes were also under pressure. Outlook India
Milind Kumar has scored the most runs from USA in ICC CWC League 2, he scored1,020 runs and as far as wickets are concerned Saurabh Netravalkar is the highest wicket-taker for them with 37 wickets. Still, those individual performances aside the team failed to come alive on the day. Cricket World
USA’s loss to Scotland in their preceding game by 2 runs (DLS method) must have compounded the heart-break, especially after Smit Patel made 72 off 56 balls and Saiteja Mukkamalla scored a century – 104 runs of just 75 deliveries but with the lower order crumbling when it mattered most.
Nepal’s Home Fortress Holds
What makes all the difference for Nepal is their favourite-piece ground of Kirtipur and a vocal home crowd who take every opportunity to lift the spirits of the ‘Rhinos’ – as they’re called. That crowd came out in full force and were not disappointed with a dominant, confidence-boosting display. latestly
All matches were officiated by on-field umpires Durga Subedi and Faisal Afridi along with Match Referee Narayanan Kutty.
