A gritty all-round display from Nepal earned them a come-from-behind 16-run victory over Netherlands in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 at the Forthill, Dundee on Tuesday (June 10). The Rohit Paudel-led Nepal limited the Dutch to 220 all out in 49.2 overs after scoring 236 runs for the loss of nine wickets. This was Nepal's third win in four league games, and Netherlands' fourth consecutive defeat.
All that after the umpires handed Nepal two five-run penalties for 'running on the pitch' with an apparent intent to damage it, during the 36.3 and 39.2 overs of their innings. The 10-run penalty meant that Netherlands effectively began their innings at 10 for no loss, but the controversial decision did not deter the Rhinos from coming out trumps.
Aarif Sheikh was named the Player of the Match for his 85-ball 84. The knock was instrumental in taking Nepal past 200 and if not for him, their comeback would not have been possible in the first place.
Earlier, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and opted to bowl first against Nepal.
Nepal Vs Netherlands Playing XIs:
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Anil Sah (wk), Bhim Sharki, Rohit Paudel (c), Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Basir Ahamad, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Nandan Yadav
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O'Dowd, Zach Lion Cachet, Wesley Barresi, Scott Edwards (wk/c), Teja Nidamanuru, Noah Croes, Kyle Klein, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren
The match witnessed the debut of Nandan Yadav, who became the 42nd player to don the ODI cap for the Rhinos.
While Nepal's next outing is again against Netherlands on June 16 in Glasgow in a T20I tri-series involving Scotland, the Dutch will first meet Scotland in the final game of the ongoing set in ICC Cricket World Cup League Two in Dundee, on June 12.
