The exciting nail-biting thriller Nepal vs USA Cricket match ended with the USA side dragging the match to their bag despite a heroic bowling performance from Kushal Bhurtel when Nepal was desperate for wickets.
USA won the coinflip section of the match and elected to bowl first at Grand Paraire Stadium. Nepal was on a positive note, having just cleaned up the USA in the T20I series and looking to get back into the rhythm in the ICC CWC League 2, too.
Nepal vs USA Match Summary
Regular opening Pair Anil Sah and Aasif Sheikh opened the inning for Nepal and made a fabulous partnership of 98 runs for the first wicket.
Aasif Sheikh completed his half-century in just 46 deliveries, including 6 boundaries and a maximum. However, Sheikh couldn’t convert it into a big inning as he got dismissed for 52 runs in 53 deliveries by Jasdeep Singh as Monank Patel took the catch to break the crucial opening partnership of Nepal.
Another opening batter, Anil Sah, also completed his half-century in just 52 deliveries, including 5 boundaries, and got dismissed in a similar way as Aasif Sheikh.
Salteja Mukkamala took the effortless catch, and Kenjinge got his first wicket. Sah returned to the Pavilion for 56 runs in 62 deliveries.
Kushal Bhurtel couldn’t play big this time and added only 11 runs to the boards and returned back into the hut as Kenjinge got his second wicket.
Rohit Paudel took responsibility and carried the inning ahead despite wickets shattering from the other end.
Paudel played a fantastic inning of 96 runs in 75 deliveries, including 8 boundaries and 3 maximum, but couldn’t complete his century as Saurabh Netravalkar bowled him out in the final ball of the inning, where Paudel tried to go big but missed the ball.
Aarif Sheikh did well in partnership in the middle with his skipper Paudel. Aarif Sheikh added 37 runs in 45 deliveries to the boards but got dismissed by the Kenjinge again.
The No. 2 ranked all-rounder of T20I cricket, Dipendra Singh Airee, also added 11 runs for his team, and the team posted a total of 286 runs to the boards, losing all of their wickets in 50 overs.
Nosthush Kenjinge was the top wicket-taker for the USA, conceding 52 runs and bagging 4 wickets in his name, followed by 2 wickets for Saurabh Netravalkar.
Nepal strikes early in the second inning, dismissing Andries Gous for just a single, and Sompal Kami got his first wicket. The USA in the runchase then replied boldly to the Nepali bowlers with a partnership of 161 runs for the second wicket between Shayan Jahangir and skipper Monank Patel.
Leg Spinner Lalit Rajbanshi dismissed Skipper Monank Patel for 62 runs in 76 deliveries.
Skipper Paudel introduced leg spinner Kushal Bhurtel, which then became the turning point of the game as Bhurtel dismissed Setman Shayan Jahangir early.
Shayan Jahangir completed his century and departed for 104 runs in 97 deliveries after Karan KC took the excellent catch and Bhurtel got wicket early.
Salteja Mukkamala at No. 4 added only 11 runs dismissed by Bhurtel, while Milind Kumar contributed only 5 runs to the total and was also dismissed by Kushal Bhurtel.
Bhurtel took back-to-back wickets, dismissing the new man, Sanjay Krishnamurti, for a golden duck. Bhurtel bagged 4 wickets in his name, which however wasn’t sufficient for Nepal to defend the total of 286 runs.
Harmeet Singh played a crucial inning for the USA, adding 57 runs in 44 deliveries, while Shadley Van Schalkwyk and Jasdeep Singh smashed the winning runs for the USA in the final over and chased the target in 49.4 over and won the match by 3 wickets.
Nepal will play against Scotland in October, while Nepal vs USA on Saturday, November 2.
Can Nepal make a comeback in the next Nepal vs USA match? Comment your opinion…
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