The Nepalese team suffered a narrow defeat against Canada in the third match of the T20I Tri-Series. After a close four-wicket defeat, Nepal must win the remaining game against Oman to stay alive in the final race.
Chasing a target of 140, the hosts reached the total in 19.3 overs with six wickets down. Saad Bin Zafar played a match-winning role with a vital late surge. Canada were struggling at 90/6 in the 15th over, needing 50 more runs. Just as Nepal seemed on course for victory, Zafar’s explosive 33 off 18 balls secured the win for his team.
Captain Nicholas Kirton hammered 14-ball 26 whereas Dilpreet Bajwa added a sluggish 25. Ravinderpal Singh also aided in 20 supportive runs. Canada required 21 runs from the last two overs and collected 18 from the penultimate over bowled by Karan KC.
For Nepal, Sandeep Lamichhane (4-1-23-2) and Lalit Rajbanshi (4-0-20-2) grabbed two wickets each with a healthy economy. Sompal Kami also got one wicket to his name. Captain Rohit only introduced five bowlers.
Earlier, Nepal posted 139/6 after being forced to bat first. Nepal’s openers provided another strong start, amassing 40 runs in just four overs. Anil Sah and Aasif Sheikh put together a partnership of 70 runs before Sah was dismissed on the first ball of the 10th over, scoring 41 off 31 balls. Nepal then lost two more quick wickets in the next two overs, with Aasif Sheikh departing after a run-a-ball 30 and Rohit Paudel falling for four.
A couple of overs later, Kushal Malla’s disappointing stay in the crease ended at 12-ball four runs as Nepal were 70/0 to 83/4 in a blink of an eye. Meanwhile, Kushal Bhurtel also failed to do any special having been dismissed for a sluggish 13.
Gulshan Jha once again did a fine job with a bat as he scored an unbeaten 23 runs. DS Airee and Karan KC added a crucial 12 and eight runs at the end. Nepal added 33 runs from the last three overs.
For Canada, Harsh Thaker was a pick of a bowler with a couple of wickets. Dilon Heyliger, Praveen Kumar, Akhil Kumar and Saad Bin Zafar also got one wicket each.
Nepal will face Oman in a do-or-die clash tonight. In case of Nepal’s defeat, they will be out of the race for the final.
Related stories
Nepal wraps up series with win over Netherlands
Nepal edge Netherlands by 16 runs to grab third win in four matches
Nepal’s valiant effort against Scotland fall short by a whisker
Nepal records highest-ever ODI total in thriller against Scotland
Nepal fall agonizingly short against Scotland in CWC League 2 thriller
