Nepal to meet UAE for the T20 World Cup spot

 By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Nov. 3: Nepal suffered a shock defeat against Oman, losing by five runs in their last group-stage match of the ICC Men’s World Cup Asia Zone Qualifier on Thursday. Despite the loss, Nepal managed to grab the second position in Group A with four points, while Oman won all three matches to earn six points and top the table. 

As a result, Nepal will now take on the UAE, who won Group B with six points after defeating Hong Kong by 22 runs, in the semi-final at Upper Mulpani Ground on Friday, while Oman will play against Bahrain, who qualified for the semi-finals with a better run rate despite losing against Kuwait.

Nepal’s victory in the semi-finals against the UAE will secure their spot in the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies and the USA next year. The two finalists from the qualifier will also earn their ticket to the 2024 World Cup. Unfortunately, Nepal’s T20 World Cup 2022 dream came to an end after they lost in the semi-finals to the UAE in the Global Qualifiers held in Muscat. However, Nepal is seeking revenge against the UAE on their home soil, hoping to secure their spot in the T20 World Cup after a gap of ten years.

Nepal’s captain, Rohit Paudel, blamed poor batting for the stunning loss against Oman. “After winning the toss, our bowlers restricted the visitors to a normal score. But the batting was not as expected today. One good partnership could have given us a victory.”

After winning the toss, the Nepali bowlers restricted Oman to a score of 140/9 in 20 overs, but the Nepal team had a nightmarish inning in the run chase, being bundled out for 140 runs in the last ball.

Nepal required 26 runs in the last over for the victory. With just two wickets in hand, Bibek Yadav on strike and Karan KC on the other end, Omani skipper Zeeshan Maqsood gave their top bowler Bilal Khan to bowl the last over. 

The 20-year-old Yadav, who got the chance to play after Dipendra Singh Airee was injured, batted valiantly and brought Nepal closer to victory with 19 runs in the first three balls. Yadav hit a six off the first ball, and Khan bowled the next ball wide. Yadav then smashed sixes in the consecutive second and third balls as Nepal glared at the victory. Nepal now needed seven runs off three balls. 

However, Yadav was caught out by Ayan Khan in the 19.4 overs, leaving KC to score six runs off the last ball, but he was caught by Kaleemullah, and Nepal failed to pull off a miracle.

Nepal’s head coach Monty Desai expressed his admiratin for Bibek Yadab’s valiant batting performance under pressure. “I am very pleased to see Bibek Yadav batting so bravely in such a pressure situation. We got a new player today.” Captain Paudel also praised Yadav’s explosive performance. “The win could have made it even better.”

Nepali batters crumbled at regular intervals as Omani bowlers did not allow the host to come up with one good partnership. Opening batter Kushal Bhurtel scored 26 runs in 18 balls with three sixes and one four. The other opener, Aasif Sheikh, was caught and bowled by Khan for five runs. Sompal Kami, who came to the crease one down, was dismissed for 12 runs. Kushal Malla (10), Captain Paudel (12), and Sundeep Jora (12) were other double-digit scorers for Nepal. Bilal Khan was the pick of the bowler for Oman with a three-wicket haul. Shakeel Ahmed, Sakil Ahmed, Mehran Khan, and Aqib Ilyas took two wickets each in the win of Oman.

Earlier, Oman also failed to bat properly against the disciplined bowling of Nepal. Captain Zeeshan Maqsood was the top contributor for the visitors with a 26-ball 32. Oman tottered to 87/6 in 13.2 overs, but lower-order batters Naseek Khushi and Shakeel Ahmed took Oman to a respectable score to defend with. Khushi scored 25 runs off 14 balls with two boundaries and two maximums. Man of the match Ahmed remained not out with a 17-ball 22. 

Pacer Karan KC led Nepal’s bowling onslaught by picking three wickets, while Sompal Kami and Sandeep Lamichhane had two wickets each. Gulshan Jha and Abinash Bohara dismissed one batter each. Kami completed his 50th wicket milestone in T20I and became the fourth Nepali bowler to do so, after Lamichhane, KC and Bohara.