The Netherlands defeated hosts Nepal by four wickets in the final to clinch the Nepal Tri-Nation T20I Series trophy at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday.

Chasing a challenging 185, the Dutch achieved the target in 19.3 overs, losing six wickets, in a pulsating finish.

Opener Michael Levitt spearheaded the Netherlands chase scoring a half-century, while Sybrand Engelbrecht played a crucial 29-ball 48. Levitt scored 54 runs off 29 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes.

Levitt and Max O’Dowd added 83 runs for the first wicket to give the Netherlands a solid start.

Kushal Malla dismissed O’Dowd with his first delivery and Levitt four balls later in the ninth over but it was not enough to derail the Netherlands’ progress.

Vikramjit Singh and Englebrecht put on a 50-run stand for the third wicket but Abinash Bohara then got rid of Singh (29 runs off 23 balls) and Dipendra Singh Airee then sent back captain Scott Edwards for two to check the run-flow.

The visitors were precariously posed at 145-4 after the 17th over. But Engelbrecht smashed two fours and two sixes off Bohara in the successive balls in the 18th over to give the Netherlands hope.

After Malla ended Engelbrecht’s knock in the first ball of the 19th over—denying him his second T20I half century—Timm van der Gugetn hit Malla with a six and a four in the 19th over and bullied Karan KC with a four and a six in the 20th over in his aggressive 5-ball 21 to take the Netherlands to 189-6.

Malla was the pick of Nepal bowling, taking four wickets. Bohara and Airee picked one wicket apiece.

Earlier, Nepal, who opted to bat first, appeared to be heading towards a huge total but could only post 184-8 after their lower order could not carry the momentum at the death overs.

Opener Kushal Bhurtel continued his poor form in the shortest format, departing for 20 in the fourth over—his highest individual score in the series. He scored 12 against the Dutch in their last meeting and was out for a duck for two matches in a row in Nepal’s first two games.

Aasif Sheikh and skipper Rohit Paudel added 59 runs for the second wicket to steady the ship before Paudel fell after scoring 25 runs off 19 balls after Levitt deceived him in the 10th over.

Sheikh then shared a 43-run stand with Gulsan Jha for the third wicket to take Nepal to 125-2.

Sheikh was nearing his fifth T20I fifty but Levitt then trapped him leg in front in the 14th over. Sheikh scored 47 runs facing 37 deliveries.

Nepal’s scoring spree suddenly dried out as Aerie also left the crease soon adding just one run.

Malla ended the run-drought with three straight sixes off Levitt in the 17th over during his 11-ball 26 before being caught by Singh off Engelbrecht in the first ball of the 18th over.

Nepal were well-placed at 168-5 but lost three wickets in three consecutive deliveries.

KC came at the strike and began his innings in style with a huge six off Engelbrecht but fell to Engelbrecht four balls later.

Fred Klassen then removed Jha, who played a valiant 25-ball 34, and Aarif Sheikh for a duck in the successive balls.

Sompal Kami and Pratis GC added six runs each to lead Nepal to a competitive total.

Engelbrecht, Levitt, Gurgten and Klaassen took two wickets each for Nepal.

Despite opening the tri-series losing their first two matches to Namibia and the Netherlands, the Rhinos had bounced back to win both their second leg matches and progressed into the final as group runners-up.

All three teams have qualified for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Nepal qualified through Asia regional qualifier, while Namibia booked their spot through Africa regional qualifier. The Netherlands qualified as one of the top eight teams from the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Nepal will next travel to Hong Kong to participate in Hong Kong T20I Tri-series, which also involves Papua New Guinea. The tri-series will start on March 9.