Nepal thrashes Oman by seven wickets

KATHMANDU: Nepal has defeated Oman by seven wickets in the second one day played against hosts in a triangular series under the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 on Sunday. 

Nepal reached the target of 122 runs set by the hosts in the 19th over with 190 balls remaining. Skipper Gyanendra Malla played a brilliant innings of 52 runs unbeaten off the 46 balls while opener Aasif Sheikh  added 40 runs to guide the team toward an easy victory. 

Earlier, Nepal won the toss and opted to bowl first. Bowlers duo Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane took four wickets each to restrict the Omani side to 121.

In its first match against Oman on September 14, Nepal was thrashed by the hosts by five wickets with 113 balls remaining. 

In the ongoing series, Nepal won a match against the USA by five wickets on Sept 12 while lost to the same side by six wickets on Friday. 

Following Sunday’s win over Oman, Nepal has jumped up to the fourth position of the league’s points table with eight points from eight matches --- four wins and four losses. 

Oman is leading the points table of the league that comprises seven countries. Other teams pitted in the group include Scotland, Namibia, the USA, Papua New Guinea and the UAE. 

The top three countries will make it to global qualifiers for the ICC World Cup 2023 to be held in India.