Nepal went down to Canada yet again to record third consecutive loss in the ICC World Cup League 2 being held in Canada. In the third game played on Sunday, Canada defeated Nepal by five wickets.
With the win, Canada climbed to the top of the table with 14 points, leaving the Netherlands at second. Meanwhile, Nepal remained at seventh with a solitary win.
Chasing a target of 182 runs, Canada comfortably reached 186 for the loss of 5 wickets in 42 overs. With half-centuries from Navneet Dhaliwal and Pragit Singh, Canada secured an easy victory.
Earlier in the match, Nepal’s skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel won the toss and surprisingly elected to bat first. Alike the previous matches, Nepal’s top order failed once again resulting in another low total of 181 runs on the board.
Sandeep Lamichhane top scored for Nepal with a confident knock of 49 runs off 48 balls, which included 5 fours and 1 six. This marked his best batting performance in ODIs, surpassing his previous unbeaten 35 off 50 balls against PNG in 2023.
Gulshan Jha scored 34 runs from 56 balls, sharing a 34-run partnership with Arif Sheikh for the seventh wicket. Arif managed only 10 runs off 33 balls.
Sandeep also formed a crucial 55-run partnership with Sompal Kami for the eighth wicket. Sompal made 21 runs off 48 balls before being dismissed by Saad Bin Zafar. Opener Arjun Saud contributed 10 runs, but no other Nepali player could reach double digits. Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane shared a 39-run stand for the ninth wicket, with Karan scoring 24 runs from 28 balls.
For Canada, Kalim Sana took 3 wickets, Harsh Thaker grabbed 2, and Saad Bin Zafar, Dillon Heyliger, and Praveen Kumar each took 1 wicket.
Dhaliwal was the top scorer for Canada, making 87 runs off 113 balls, hitting 8 fours and 4 sixes. Pragit contributed 64 runs from 83 balls, with 7 boundaries and 2 sixes.
Harsh Thaker added 13 runs, and Nicholas Kirton remained not out with 11 runs. For Nepal, Sandeep Lamichhane took 2 wickets, while Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, and Lalit Rajbanshi each claimed one wicket.