Nepal suffered a defeat against Namibia in its inaugural match of the triangular series within the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, which serves as a qualifier for the ODI World Cup slated for South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in 2027.
Namibia clinched victory by 4 wickets in the match held at TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur halting Nepal’s streak of consecutive wins at the venue at 15. Nepal had set a target of 133 runs, which Namibia chased down losing 6 wickets in 33.1 overs.
Jan Frylinck contributed 34 runs off 53 balls for Namibia. Sompal dismissed him on the last ball of the 21st over, caught by Kushal Bhurtel. Jan Nicol added 31 runs off 30 balls but was dismissed LBW by captain Rohit Kumar Poudel in the 33rd over.
Namibia’s innings commenced with Nikolaaas Devin, who scored 15 runs off 16 balls before being dismissed by Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi in the 6th over. Michael van Lingen was the next to depart, caught by Dev Khanal off Lalit’s bowling.
Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus fell as the third wicket to Sompal Kami, scoring 8 runs before being caught by Pawan Sarraf. Their fifth wicket, Zane Green was dismissed by Sompal for 2 runs in the 25th over.
For Nepal, Sompal Kami claimed three wickets, while Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi and Rohit Kumar Paudel took two and one wicket respectively.
Batting first after losing the toss, Nepal managed to score 132 runs before being all out in the 42nd over.
Bhim Sarki was the highest scorer with 44 runs off 86 balls, including two fours and a six. However, he fell victim to Erasmus in the 28th over, dismissed LBW. Gulsan Jha contributed 21 runs off 31 balls before being dismissed by Erasmus in the 32nd over.
Nepal’s innings had a rough start, losing opener Kushal Bhurtel for a duck on the first ball, caught at slip by JJ Smith off Ruben Trumpelman. Anil Kumar Shah departed as the second wicket in the first ball of the third over, dismissed LBW by Trumpelman.
Opener Aasif Sheikh fell as the third wicket after scoring 4 runs off 11 balls, caught out by JJ Smith off Jack Brassell. Captain Rohit Paudel was bowled by Brassell after making one run.
Brassell made his ODI debut in this match. Kushal Malla was the next to depart, dismissed by captain Erasmus in the 20th over after scoring 15 runs off 22 balls. Malla and Bhim Sarki shared a partnership of 46 runs for the fifth wicket.
Sompal Kami was the sixth wicket to fall, scoring only 2 runs before being dismissed by Erasmus in the 22nd over. Karan KC was the last to depart, out LBW to Erasmus.
For Namibia, captain Gerhard Erasmus claimed five wickets, while Ruben Trumpelman and Jack Brassell took two wickets each.
This match carries significant weight for Nepal as the top four teams out of the eight participating in the League 2 series will directly qualify for the World Cup.
After securing victory in the first match of the World Cup League Two, Namibia leads the table with two points. Nepal, unfortunately, failed to add points with this defeat.
The second match of the series will feature the Netherlands against Nepal on February 17th, and the Netherlands against Namibia on February 19th.
Nepal will face Namibia on February 21st in their third match of the series, with the series concluding with a match between Nepal and the Netherlands on February 25th, while Namibia and the Netherlands will clash on February 23rd.
