Kushal Bhurtel, for his unbeaten knock of 120 off 118, was awarded the player of the match in Nepal’s nine-wicket win over the USA at the TU International Cricket Ground on Saturday. Eventfully, Bhurtel received the award from Andrew Flintoff, one of England’s best all-rounders.

Flintoff, who played 76 Tests and 141 ODIs for England, was in attendance for the Nepal vs USA fixture of the ICC CWC League-2 cycle (2024-27) at the home of Nepali cricket.

Flintoff was seen watching the match from the VIP box with Minister for Education and Sports Sasmit Pokharel and Cricket Association of Nepal’s Secretary Paras Khadka, among others.

After the match ended, the former English all-rounder was on the ground for a brief chat with the Nepali team. Looking at his pinching-hand gesture, it seemed Flintoff started the chat by recalling how his home side won against Nepal by the barest of margins at the 2026 T20 World Cup in Mumbai, India, in February.

Flintoff’s arrival at TU Ground comes as a big hope for Nepali cricket. He arrived a few days after Espncricinfo, the leading cricket website, reported that England were planning a friendly series in Nepal during their 2027-2031 Future Tours Programme (FTP).

While it is the biggest positive for Nepal from Saturday’s match, it is not the only one.

The win over the USA comes as a big relief for the Rhinos as they aim for as many wins as possible in their remaining League-2 fixtures. Nepal are currently placed seventh in the table among eight teams and want to finish as one of the top four teams by the end of the cycle.

Further, the way Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh opened for Nepal against the USA, the Rhinos have gained extra confidence in their batting order.

It was Bhurtel’s first match against the US at the TU Ground on Saturday. And he made it an extremely memorable one for himself and the Rhino Army.

After its upgrade with concrete grandstands and floodlights, TU Ground witnessed large crowds throughout the second season of the Nepal Premier League (November 17 to December 13, 2025). However, when Nepal’s international matches returned to the ground, empty seats dominated.

Nepal vs USA on Saturday was the 11th international match at TU Ground after the 2nd NPL. Of them, eight matches included Nepal.

But it was not until Saturday that TU Ground returned to normalcy with thousands of fans turning out for the League-2 fixture against the USA. And they were served with a brilliant bowling and batting display from the Rhinos.

“It felt great to see such a big crowd after so long,” Bhurtel said in the post-match press conference. “The century felt extra special.”

He added, “The crowd turnout could also be because it was Saturday. But I believe today’s match will encourage fans to come for our remaining matches.”

Bhurtel had made his comeback to the playing squad after missing three matches. His last match was against Oman in the League-2 fixture on April 29, where he got out at 1 off 3.

“I was batting well during the T20Is. I did well against the UAE in the T20I series,” Bhurtel said in the press conference. “But I made a poor decision against Oman’s left-arm (bowler) and lost my place for three matches.”

Bhurtel went on, “But I was sure to make a comeback. I continued working on my game in the nets and through personal training. I had discussed with Aasif, my room partner, that whenever we returned, the top order needed to give Nepal a solid start.”

Aasif departed at 58 off 72 in 26.3 overs with the team’s total at 145. Ishan Pandey, who was debuting for Nepal, joined Bhurtel to complete the chase with 80 balls to spare. Pandey (20 off 30) scored the winning boundary in 36.4 overs.

Meanwhile, Bhurtel did not just make a quality comeback on Saturday. He scored his career best individual score in ODIs and became only the third Nepali batter—after Rohit Kumar Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee—to have two ODI tons for Nepal.

“I was desperate for this century,” Bhurtel said. “I've wanted it ever since I missed my century against Zimbabwe.”

Bhurtel was bowled at 99 runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier against Zimbabwe in Harare on June 18, 2023. It was the match where Bhurtel and Sheikh scored the highest first-wicket partnership for Nepal, putting together 171 runs.

Both his tons came in Kirtipur, Bhurtel’s favourite venue. His first century (115 off 109) was against Namibia on February 14, 2023.

“The last time Kushal Bhurtel scored a century, Nepal went on to win 11 of their remaining 12 matches in League 2,” Troll Cricket Nepal, a social media page that posts memes, trolls and news of Nepali cricket and beyond, posted after Bhurtel’s heroics against the USA.

Thus, the fans now have more expectations from the Rhinos to repeat the miraculous comeback of the previous League-2 cycle (2020-2023) this season too.

And the win over the Americans, who are placed second in the table, is another encouragement for Nepal as Stuart Law’s men move forward to write another implausible story in Associate cricket.

It was Nepal’s fourth win in six League-2 matches at TU Ground since the tri-series comprising the UAE and Oman from April 25 to May 5. Of the two losses, one was against Oman on April 29 and the other against Scotland four days ago.

It was also the Rhinos’s first win over the USA in the ongoing League-2 cycle (2024-2027). The USA had defeated Nepal in their last four encounters.

“It was a good wicket to bat on,” said Saiteja Mukkamalla, who was captaining the US side as their captain, Monank Patel, missed the match due to injury. “We should have scored up to 300. But we failed as wickets kept falling down. The biggest positive for us today was Smit Patel continuing his good form.”

Patel top-scored for the USA with 83 off 89, followed by Shehan Jayasuriya’s 50 off 52, as the visitors posted 195. Patel and Jayasuriya had a 100-run partnership for the second wicket.

Dipendra Singh Airee was the hero with the ball for Nepal. He picked up four wickets in 7.3 overs. Sompal Kami took two while Sandeep Lamichhane and Gulshan Kumar Jha claimed one each.

“Even with 195, we could have made a game out of it but my spinners are struggling to find the right pace on these wickets to turn [the ball],” Pubudu Dassanayake, head coach of the USA, said after the loss. “Nepal did well because they are used to these conditions.”

Dassanayake, the former head coach of Nepal, added that Nepali conditions were difficult.

“I have told my players about Nepali conditions already. But they are taking time to get used to it because the conditions are very tough,” Dassanayake said. “There is a change in conditions [at TU Ground] throughout the day. Nepal is a place where things are changing in the 100 overs.”

Dassanayake, meanwhile, argued that the team would not take the difficult conditions as an excuse.

“We have three days off, so we will prepare for the next game,” he added.

Considered one of the best coaches Nepali cricket ever had, Dassanayake, who took Nepal to their maiden T20 World Cup in 2014, also praised Bhurtel’s batting.

“I know he was not in a few matches,” Dassanayake said. “He [Bhurtel] is so talented, and he is the best that Nepal has. It is tough to expect someone to be consistent in every game, but when he gets going, he gives a match-winning performance. Today is an example of that.”

Nepal will face Scotland, the team at the top of the points table in League-2, on Monday.