KATHMANDU, May 16: Nepal registered a comfortable nine wicket win against the United States in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League-2 match.
Opener Kushal Bhurtel's explosive century innings helped Nepal achieve the target of 196 runs set by the USA in just 36.4 overs, losing one wicket.
In the match played at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Saturday, Bhurtel contributed an unbeaten 120 runs off 118 balls with the help of 13 fours and 4 sixes.
Road to ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 starts in September
Bhurtel was supported by another opener, Asif Sheikh, who scored 58 runs. They had a strong partnership of 145 runs for the first wicket. Asif hit eight fours in 72 balls.
Ishan Pandey, who came to the crease after Asif Sheikh was dismissed, scored an unbeaten 20 runs off 30 balls, including one four. The enthusiasm of the home fans was high as Nepal reached the target with 80 balls remaining.
Mohammad Mohsin took the only wicket for the USA. Earlier, the USA team was invited to bat first after losing the toss, and was bowled out for 195 runs in 43.3 overs.
Nepal's all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee bowled a lethal bowling to stop America cheaply. He took four important wickets for just 24 runs in 7.3 overs. Sompal Kami took two wickets, making 35 runs in seven overs.
Similarly, Sandeep Lamichhane and Gulshan Jha took one wicket each for Nepal. For the USA, opener Smith Patel contributed the most, with 83 runs in 89 balls, including eight fours and three sixes. Another batsman Shehan Jayasuriya played a half-century innings of 50 runs in 52 balls.
However, the USA team could not post a big score as the middle-order batsmen appeared helpless against the Nepali bowlers. Except for Milind Kumar who scored 28 runs, no other batsman managed to score double figures.
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