Nepal clinch thriller to win maiden ODI

Nepal scripted history by edging past the Netherlands in a thrilling contest to register their maiden ODI victory at Amstelveen and level the two-match series 1-1.

Nepal scripted history by edging past the Netherlands in a thrilling contest to register their maiden ODI victory at Amstelveen and level the two-match series 1-1.

Nepal captain Paras Khadka stood up when it mattered the most. Having only six to defend in the last over, Khadka held his nerves, giving away only four runs in the first five balls and inflicted a run out in the last ball to seal the victory for Nepal.

The Nepal spinners led by their Nepal cricket’s undeclared brand ambassador, Sandeep Lamichhane made life difficult for Netherlands in the 217-run chase. Lamichhane was the star of the show, picking up three wickets conceding only 41 runs in his 10-over spell, while left-armer Lalit Bhandari took 2/43 off nine, slow left-armer Basant Regmi 1/39 off 10.

The Netherlands got off to the worst possible start, losing opener Myburgh in the second ball of the match.  Cooper (19) soon followed, leaving Netherlands stranded at 31 for 2 and in desperate need of a partnership. That did come through Wesley Barresi and DJ Braak. The duo put together 84-run stand for the third wicket before Lamichhane made his presence felt, accounting for Braak(39).

A couple of balls later, Lamichhane struck again. De leede paid the price of charging down without reading Lamichhane off the hand and Netherlands were four down for 114.

The double-wicket over provided the much-needed boost to Nepal. Captain Khadka then got his spinner into action and they responded by picking up wickets at regular intervals.

The match turned towards Nepal when Barresi was dismissed for 71. The lower-order of Netherlands did put up a valiant fight but Khadka’s last over stopped them in their tracks.

Earlier, Khadka (51) and Sompal Kami’s (61) twin half-centuries enabled Nepal to put up a competitive 216 on board.