Levitt 86 in vain as Nepal chase down 175 to top table

By ESPNcricinfo staff, June 20: Michael Levitt scored a quickfire 86 off 53, following his 90 against Scotland, but his efforts were in vain in the T20 tri-series fixture on Thursday as Nepal triumphed over the Netherlands by six wickets. Levitt's knock helped Netherlands post 174 for 7, but Nepal chased down the target with two balls to spare, thanks to solid contributions from opener Kushal Bhurtel and Aarif Sheikh.

Nepal 180 for 4 (Bhurtel 65, Sheikh 39*, Fletcher 1-20) beat Netherlands 174 for 7 (Levitt 86, van der Merwe 36*) by six wickets

Asked to bat first, the Netherlands were in trouble early on, losing four wickets for 45 runs in the powerplay. However, Saqib Zulfiqar and Levitt managed to build a 63-run stand for the fifth wicket to stabilise the innings as Levitt brought up a 20-ball half-century. Nepal broke through in the 12th over again when Sandeep Lamichhane had Zulfiqar stumped for 14. Three overs later, Levitt, who had struck six fours and five sixes, was dismissed by fast bowler Karan KC to dent the  Netherlands further, placing them on 127 for 6.

Despite losing a few quick wickets, the Netherlands mounted a fightback. Roelof van der Merwe, the experienced allrounder, raised the tempo with a rapid and unbeaten 36 off 21 balls. He shared a crucial 45-run partnership off just 30 balls with Aryan Dutt for the eighth wicket to lift the  Netherlands to a competitive total.

In contrast, Nepal had a solid start to their chase, accumulating 60 runs in the powerplay for the loss of just one wicket. Bhurtel reached his fifty off 38 balls and put on 54 runs for the second wicket with Bhim Sharki, who contributed with a brisk 16-ball 27. Van der Merwe bowled Sharki in the ninth over, and Nepal lost their captain, Rohit Paudel, in the 12th over for just 5.

However, Bhurtel continued to strike at a steady pace, and by the time he was dismissed for 65, Nepal only needed 34 runs off 26 balls. Aarif Sheikh took them closer with a quickfire 39 off 23 balls, which included three fours and two sixes, before retiring hurt in the penultimate over, with Nepal just seven away. Lokesh Bam finished things off with two sixes in the last over for Nepal's second win in a row since their Super Over loss to the Netherlands.

Nepal have surged to the top of the points table with four points. Netherlands, having played four matches, are tied on points but are placed second due to an inferior net run rate. Nepal will now face Scotland, who are on two points after three matches, in the last game of the series on Friday. (Espncricinfo)