Nepal won their second match of the ICC CWC League-2 tri-series defeating the hosts, Oman, in Al Amerat on Tuesday.

The Rhinos had posted 263/8 in the first innings after winning the toss and electing to bat. 

Arjun Kumal and Ishan Pandey, who joined after the departure of Aasif Sheikh (4 off 15), built a 64-run partnership for the second wicket. Pandey departed in the 21st over after scoring 37 off 55 and was followed by Kumal (40 off 59) in the 22nd. Nepal were then 83/3.

Rohit Kumar Paudel and Basir Ahamad were then the fresh batters on the crease. The duo took Nepal to 169/4 before Ahamad departed as the fourth wicket in 39.1 overs. Paudel and Ahamad built a 86-run partnership.

After that came the biggest cameo of the match when in-at-eight Karan KC smashed 40 off 16 before getting run out in the last ball of the innings. 

Nepal did not post a big total that would have been easy to defend, but the visitors made sure they did.  

In turn, Oman could only manage 150 runs before getting bundled out in 40 overs.

The hosts’ batting order crumbled from the very start when opener Hasnain Ul Wahab departed for a duck in 1.4 overs after facing two deliveries. By the end of the 12th over, Oman had lost six of their wickets with only 41 runs on the board.

However, despite picking quick wickets, Nepali bowlers struggled to break Oman’s partnership for the seventh wicket between skipper Vinayak Shukla and Jay Odedra.

Dipendra Singh Airee broke the partnership in the 32nd over, getting Odedra out for a leg before. When Odedra (25 off 57) departed, Oman were 124/7.

Shukla, meanwhile, went on scoring while the wickets kept falling from the other end. Oman were in the chase until Shukla was on the crease.

However, when Shukla departed–for a blunder shot while trying to guide the ball towards the third man—after getting caught behind, Oman were out of the chase. Shukla scored 77 off 83 and took Oman to 148 in 38.1 overs. 

Sandeep Lamichhane and Nandan Yadav took three wickets each. Similarly, Airee picked two, while Karan KC and Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi claimed one each in Nepal’s 113-run win. 

Nepal now face Canada on Saturday. A win over Canada would make sure Nepal finish as one of the top six teams, a position that could see Nepal retain their ODI status for the next League-2 cycle.