Rohit Paudel shines as Nepal outclass Oman

cricnepal Staff

October 3, 2024, 2 min read

The Nepalese Cricket Team thrashed Oman in their last game of the Canada T20I Tri-Series to keep the hopes alive of being champions. They hammered Oman by a commanding 56-run win, registering their second victory.

With this win, Nepal moves to the top of the table with four points from four matches. Canada also has the same number of points but with one game in hand; however, Nepal leads on Net Run Rate (NRR). If Oman manages to defeat Canada in the final match of the series, Nepal will be crowned champions because they are very below on NRR and are less likely to surpass Nepal. Otherwise, Canada will claim the title.

Invited to bat first, Nepal set a total of 157/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Captain Rohit Paudel led the scoring with an unbeaten 56 off 44 balls. Initially struggling at 19 from 25 deliveries, he picked up the pace, smashing four sixes. Kushal Malla chipped in with a slow 19, while Dev Khanal added 18 off as many balls, and Aasif Sheikh contributed 16. Anil Sah and Kushal Bhurtel each scored 11 runs during the opening and closing stages, respectively.

In response, Oman were wrapped up for a mere 101 runs in 17.5 overs. They were 61/2 at one stage but collapsed dramatically to lose the next eight wickets for just 50 runs. Zeeshan Maqsood top scored with 35 runs. Captain Aqib Ilyas made 22 whereas Pratik Athavale contributed 12 runs. The remaining batters were unable to cross the double-digit score.

For Nepal, Kushal Bhurtel swept the tailenders and grabbed three wickets. Sandeep Lamichhane, once again was brilliant with a figure of 4-0-12-2. Captain Rohit Paudel and pacer Rijan Dhakal also grabbed a couple of wickets each. Rohit was adjudged POTM for his all-round performance.

Rohit Paudel