Kushal Bhurtel (84) and Rohit Paudel (62*) starred with bat to propel Nepal to a five-wicket win against the United States of America in Match 37 of the Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman.
Chasing a challenging 231, Nepal kept the target under control right from the beginning. Coming at No. 4, Paudel remained till the end, and struck two fours and three sixes to guide his side reach the target with an over to spare.
Earlier, the USA lost both Steven Taylor and Sushant Modani inside 10 overs after opting to bat. Monank Patel took charge from there, and smashed nine fours and a six to bring up his hundred. In contrast, none of his teammates could even score in excess of 21. They finished on 230/9.
Sandeep Lamichhane bowled two maidens in his 2-35. Sushan Bhari was as impressive as Lamichhane, returning 2-31.
Coming to the chase, Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh (23) got Nepal off to a steady start. They added 66 in 84 balls before Nosthush Kenjige got Sheikh in the 14th over. Gyanendra Malla (17) played aggressively in his 15-ball stay but it came to an end after Nisarg Patel trapped him leg before.
Bhurtel and Paudel stitched a 51-run stand, but the USA bowlers struck twice in quick succession after that to give their fans some hope. But Paudel, well supported by Binod Bhandari (37), added 83 for the fifth wicket to take the game away from the USA, as they reached the target in the 49th over.
Brief scores: The United States of America 230/9 in 50 overs (Monank Patel 100; Sushan Bhari 2-31) lost to Nepal 231/5 in 49 overs (Kushal Bhurtel 84; Nisarg Patel 2-33) with 5 wickets with 6 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Kushal Bhurtel.