Nepal began their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series campaign with a 24-run victory over Canada on Sunday, keeping alive their hopes of retaining One-Day International status.
Chasing a target of 236 at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman, Canada were bowled out for 211 in 48.4 overs.
Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Nandan Yadav and Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets each for Nepal. Aaron Johnson top-scored for Canada with 44 runs, while Harsh Thaker made 35. Shreyas Movva and captain Hamza Tariq contributed 26 runs apiece, and Akhil Kumar remained unbeaten on 30.
Earlier, Canada won the toss and elected to field. Nepal were dismissed for 235 in 50 overs, recovering from a poor start through a century from captain Rohit Paudel.
Paudel scored 101 off 127 balls, hitting eight fours and a six, to register his third century in ODI cricket. Gulshan Jha provided support with 48 off 34 balls, including four fours and three sixes, while Basir Ahamad added 30.
Nepal lost opener Aasif Sheikh for four and Ishan Pandey for a duck early in the innings. Arjun Kumal made 23 off 54 balls before being dismissed, leaving Paudel to anchor the recovery.
For Canada, Akhil Kumar took four wickets, while Sukhjinder Singh claimed three and Zahid Siraj two.
Nepal will face hosts Oman in their second match on Tuesday.
Playing their final League 2 series, Nepal have already lost the chance to finish in the top four and qualify for the global qualifying tournament for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Their remaining priority is to finish in the top six and retain ODI status.
The victory over Canada is an important step towards that goal. Nepal will also need to beat Canada in their remaining meeting and win at least one of their two matches against Oman.
The win in Muscat lifted Nepal past Canada into sixth place. Nepal have 26 points from 33 matches, while Canada are seventh in the eight-nation League 2 with 25 points from 34 matches.
Binod Pandey is a sports reporter for the Kantipur Publications.
