Nepal suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Netherlands in their opening match of the Tri-Nation T20I Series in Scotland, going down in an extraordinary third Super Over. This was Nepal’s 100th T20I match, and it turned out to be one of the most dramatic in their history.
The game saw the initial 20-over match end in a tie, with both teams scoring 152. What followed was an intense battle of nerves: the first Super Over was tied on 19 runs, and the second Super Over ended with both teams scoring 17 runs.
In the third Super Over, Nepal failed to score a single run. Captain Rohit Paudel was dismissed on the first ball, and Rupesh Singh, making his debut, played two dots before being bowled on the fourth. Chasing just 1, the Netherlands sealed the match in style with a six on the very first ball.
Earlier, Nepal had nearly pulled off the chase. Set a target of 153, they finished on 152/8 in 20 overs. Captain Rohit Paudel top-scored with 48 off 35 balls but couldn’t finish the game. Kushal Bhurtel added 34 runs at the top.
Needing 16 off the final over, Sandeep Lamichhane and Nandan Yadav took the match down to the wire. Nandan hit a crucial four on the final ball to tie the game and force a Super Over.
Daniel Doram was the pick of the bowlers for the Netherlands with 3/14 in 4 overs. Vikramjit Singh took 2 wickets, while Kyle Klein, Ben Fletcher, and Zach Lion-Cachet claimed one each.
Earlier, the Netherlands posted 152/7 in 20 overs after electing to bat. Teja Nidamanuru top-scored with 35, while Vikramjit Singh made 30 and Saqib Zulfiqar remained unbeaten on 24.
Openers Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd contributed 20 and 19 runs respectively.
For Nepal, Sandeep Lamichhane again impressed with 3/18 in 4 overs. Nandan Yadav claimed 2/18 in 2.5 overs, while Lalit Rajbanshi and Kushal Bhurtel took one each.
The match also marked T20I debuts for batter Kiran Thagunna and pacer Rupesh Singh, adding further significance to Nepal’s 100th T20I appearance.
Nepal will be hoping to bounce back strongly in their next match of the series.