Kathmandu [Nepal], March 2 (ANI): Nepal on Saturday defeated the Netherlands by six wickets to secure its place in the finals of the Tri-nation T20I Series being held at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.
The Rhinos stumbled the visitors for 120 runs in the game. Nepal finished the target losing only four wickets with 28 balls to spare.
In the ongoing series, the Netherlands reign at the top of the table with four points from three matches and a 0.310 net run rate. Nepal, on the other hand, has gathered four points from four matches with a net run rate of 0.293, while Namibia lies at the bottom of the table with two points from three matches at a -0.700 run rate.
Nepal’s next competitor will be finalised tomorrow after the match between the Netherlands and Namibia, as top two teams will reach the final as per the format of the tournament.
On Saturday’s game, Nepal lost Kushal Bhurtel at 12 runs in 2.3 overs in the run chase. Aasif Sheikh was next to follow at eight runs, two balls later. Rohit Paudel (46) and Gulsan Jha (38) steadied the innings for Nepal, sharing a partnership of 86 runs off 66 balls to take Nepal closer to the target.
Aryan Dutt bowled out Jha in 13.4 overs as Paudel was caught by Noah Croes off a delivery by Vivian Kingma in 14.3 overs. Vivian Kingma completed a three-wicket haul for the Dutch side, giving away 17 runs in his four-over spell. Aryan Dutt finished his spell with a wicket.
The Netherlands that elected to bat first after winning the toss, were limited to 120-10 in 19.3 overs as Pratis GC completed a three-wicket haul, giving away only 13 runs with one maiden in his four-over spell.
Max O’Dowd top-scored for the Netherlands at 31 runs off 24 balls while Timm van der Gugten and Roelof van der Merwe made 24 and 23 runs respectively. Roelof van der Merwe contributed 18 runs from the Dutch side. Other Dutch batsmen failed to score in double-digit before a disciplined Nepali bowling.
Karan KC and Kushal Malla grabbed two wickets each as Dipendra Singh Airee took a wicket. (ANI)
