A record century by opener Kushal Bhurtel gave Nepal a sensational two-wicket victory over visiting Namibia in the opening match of the Triangular Series of the ICC World Cup League 2 on Tuesday. The match also saw the hosts pulling off their highest One-Day International (ODI) run chase ever.

Bhurtel scored 115 runs off 113 as Nepal made 287-8 in 47.4 overs to overcome Namibia’s challenging total of 285 runs.

Nepal’s previous best ODI chase was 255 runs against the United Arab Emirates during a bilateral series when they pulled off a four-wicket win in Dubai.

Bhurtel, dismissed two balls before Nepal secured the victory, scored his maiden ODI century and also became the first opener for Nepal to achieve the feat. He cracked 10 boundaries and four sixes and reached his century mark facing 99 deliveries.

He is the fourth Nepali batter to score an ODI century after former captain Paras Khadka, Dipendra Singh Airee and captain Rohit Paudel. The player-of-the-match also became the third Nepali player to score both Twenty20 International and ODI centuries after Khadka and Airee.

For Nepal, it was also the first ODI victory over Namibia in the League two among four matches. The visiting side had won the last three games while the other one was rained off.

Speaking after the match, captain Paudel said that the victory was a booster for the next three games of the series. “We have created history successfully chasing the biggest title in our ODI journey,” Paudel said. “The whole team is happy and we need to carry the momentum forward.”

Paudel went on, “The team combination clicked well and we played according to the instruction of the coach [Montey Desai], who has asked us to play freely without getting panicked.”

Bhurtel-Paudel partnership key to Nepal’s chase

Bhurtel and captain Rohit Paudel shared a 133-run stand for the third wicket, the highest ODI partnership for Nepal. In doing so, they eclipsed the previous best partnership of 129 runs set by Airee and Dev Khanal against Papua New Guinea for the third wicket in March last year.

The partnership also created the foundation for the home team’s victory. Paudel collected 72 off 76, the second best score for Nepal that included seven hits to the fences and three towering sixes. He was caught and bowled by Ruben Trumpelmann in the first delivery of the 34th over as the scoreboard read 186-3.

Bhurtel and captain Paudel took Nepal’s charge when the home team were struggling at 2-50 after opener Aasif Sheikh departed for a duck and Gyanendra Malla was trapped leg before on 25 runs by Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton. Malla hit four fences in his 35-ball knock.

Bhurtel said that he was elated for the century he scored. “The more important thing is we won the match and I justified the role the coach had assigned to me,” he said. “I think the team’s hard work paid off today.”

Kushal Malla and Airee departed cheaply on six and seven runs respectively as the fourth and fifth wicket. But Sundeep Jora gave a much-needed respite to Nepal scoring 28 off 24, comprising three boundaries and six. Karan KC hit 12-ball 20 remaining unbeaten as Sompal Kami hit the winning boundary in the only delivery he faced.

Namibian bowler Ruben Trumpelmann and Tangeni Lungameni claimed three wickets each. Trumpelmann returned with the match figure of 10-0-48-3 and Lungameni 10-1-44-1.

Paudel reaches 1000 runs landmark

Captain Rohit Paudel became the first Nepali player to reach the 1000 runs landmark in ODI. He reached the milestone after scoring 55 runs against Namibia. With Tuesday’s 72, he has now scored 1017 runs from 33 innings. Former captain Gyanendra Malla, with 734 runs from 27 innings, is the second highest ODI run scorer for Nepal.

Michael van Lingen’s century in vain

Batting first, Namibia made a shaky start to their innings losing openers Lo-handre Louwrens on five and Karl Birkenstock on 13 runs with 2-45 on board.

But Michael van Lingen scored 133 off 137, the highest of the game, and also shared a 145-run stand for the third wicket with captain Gerhard Erasmus, who contributed 56 off 79.

Van Lingen smashed nine hits to the fences and five sixes before achieving a century milestone off 188 deliveries. He was dismissed as sixth wicket in the 47th over after medium pacer Karan KC had him caught by Airee.

Van Lingen also hit his second ODI century against Nepal after 121-run in their home match of the Series in December last year when they pulled off a 86 runs victory. It was also his third ODI century and second in a row.

Erasmus hit two boundaries and three sixes before he was caught by Sandeep Lamichhane in Kushal Malla’s delivery. Zane Green contributed a quickfire 19-ball 34 and Jan Frylinck hit 10-ball 13.

Karan KC grabs five-wicket

Medium pacer Karan KC was the most successful bowler for the home team claiming five wickets that included the prized wicket of Van Lingen. KC conceded 61 runs in his 10-over spell with a maiden over.

Former Nepal captain Lamichhane, who is accused of raping a minor and released on bail, grabbed three wickets in his 10-over haul, conceding 66 runs. Sompal Kami and Kushal Malla picked one wicket each.

Nepal stable in standings

After their ninth win in 25 games dplayed, Nepal remained intact in the sixth position with 20 points in the seven-team standings. Namibia are third on 37 points from 36 matches. Scotland, the other team of the series, occupy top position with 46 points from 32 matches.

The teams finishing in top five positions will retain ODI status while the sides finishing in top three positions will qualify for World Cup Qualifiers. The bottom four will have to go through the playoffs for the Qualifiers. Nepal’s hope of qualifying directly into the qualifier is almost over and are struggling to save their ODI status.