Cricket
Nepal hammer Canada by nine wickets, clean-sweep ODI series 3-0
Putting up a record 189-run partnership, Bhim Sharki and Anil Sah complete a century each in the third game of the three-match series.Sports Bureau
Bhim Sharki and Anil Sah cracked a century each as Nepal defeated Canada by nine wickets in the final match of the one-day international bilateral series on Monday.
The hosts overcame the 233-run target with 33 balls to spare to clean-sweep the series 3-0.
In the match held at the TU Cricket Ground, Sah scored not out 112 runs off 124 deliveries with 12 fours and two sixes. His batting partner Sharki racked up an unbeaten 101 runs off 129 balls, muscling 11 fours and a six.
Opener Kushal Bhurtel was out for 13 runs at 4.5 overs in the run chase.
Dillon Heyliger was the lone wicket-taker for the visitors.
While steering the team to victory, Anil Sah and Bhim Sharki also set records. Their unbeaten 189-run stand is the highest partnership by Nepali cricketers in one-day internationals. They superseded the 171-run partnership by Kushal Bhurtel and Aashif Sheikh against Zimbabwe in Harare in October last year.
The two batters made another history by scoring one century each as this is for the first time Nepali batters scored two centuries in a single innings.
Earlier, sent to bat first after losing the toss, the visitors scored 232 runs in the stipulated 50 overs with the help of a half-century by Navneet Dhaliwal.
Opener Aaron Johnson was dismissed in 2.4 overs for a cheap 4 runs after Nepal’s Dev Khanal caught him off Hemant Dhami.
Srimantha Wijeyeratne (22) and Nicholas Kirton (3) were next to go after being caught by Rohit Paudel and Bhim Sharki, respectively. Wijeyeratne smashed two hits to the fence in his 28-knock play.
Canada’s top-scorer Dhaliwal muscled five hits to the boundaries putting up 50 runs off 82 deliveries. Lalit Rajbanshi had him caught by Akash Chand in 26.6 overs.
Harsh Thaker contributed 29 runs facing 57 deliveries before being caught leg-before by Kushal Malla in 36.5 overs.
Similarly, Nikhil Dutta fired two fours and six to put 45 runs on the scoreboard. He was run out by Bhim Sharki in 47.5 overs.
Canadian captain Saad Bin Zafar hit four boundaries and two sixes as he scored an unbeaten 29 runs.
For Nepal, Hemant Dhami pocketed three wickets. Likewise, Kushal Malla collected two Canadian scalps. Lalit Rajbanshi and Akash Chand also took a wicket apiece.
Hosts Nepal clinched the three-match bilateral series on Saturday after registering a four-wicket victory at the TU Cricket Ground on Saturday.
The Rhinos had defeated Canada by seven runs in the first ODI on February 8.
Nepal played the three-match series against Canada as a preparation for the upcoming League 2 matches.
Nepal, Netherlands and Namibia are scheduled to play bilateral ODIs and a T20I tri-series from Thursday as part of the World Cricket League 2.