Nepal beat Oman by 113 runs in their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 match at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman on Tuesday, sealing their second consecutive win of the series. Batting first, Nepal posted 263 for eight, with former captain Rohit Kumar Paudel top-scoring with 61, before their bowlers ran through the hosts and bowled Oman out for just 150 in 40 overs. Captained by Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal are playing the final series of League 2 with a top-six finish in their sights, one that would preserve their One Day International status, and this emphatic result keeps that objective firmly on track.
Paudel's 61 leads Nepal to 263 for eight
Nepal's innings was shaped by the composure of Rohit Kumar Paudel, the former captain who top-scored with 61 to steer the side to 263 for eight. His knock stood out as the highest score of the innings, and the runs accumulated around it gave Nepal a total their bowlers could genuinely defend in the fifty-over contest.
The contribution carried added significance given Paudel's recent form. In Nepal's previous match of the series, a 24-run win over Canada, he had struck a century, and his 61 against Oman made it back-to-back standout innings at the top of Nepal's scoring charts. For a side chasing a strong finish in this final League 2 series, having its most experienced batter in touch is a considerable boost.
A total in excess of 260 also changed the calculus for Oman's chase, forcing the hosts to take risks against a Nepal bowling unit that had already shown it could defend a target in this series.
Oman's chase falls apart for 150
Oman's pursuit of the target never found rhythm. The hosts were bowled out for 150 in 40 overs, leaving Nepal winners by 113 runs with ten overs of the innings unused. Vinayak Shukla provided the main resistance with 77, a score that accounted for more than half of Oman's total and made him the standout batter of the chase for the home side.
But Shukla's effort could not bridge the gap. Nepal's bowlers kept taking wickets until the innings folded inside 40 overs, and the size of the margin underlined how completely Nepal controlled both phases of the game, first with the bat and then with the ball.
The match in numbers
- 263 for 8: Nepal's total after batting first at Al Amerat
- 61: the top score, from former captain Rohit Kumar Paudel
- 150 all out: Oman's reply, completed in 40 overs
- 77: Vinayak Shukla, the hosts' top scorer
- 113 runs: Nepal's winning margin, a second straight victory of the series
Momentum builds with back-to-back wins
The win over Oman, as Khabarhub reported, followed Nepal's 24-run victory over Canada earlier in the series, in which Paudel scored a century. Taken together, the two results give Nepal successive wins and 161 runs from Paudel's bat across the two matches, form arriving at precisely the moment the team needs it most.
Nepal, captained by Sandeep Lamichhane, have now strung together consecutive wins in the tournament's final series. The pattern of both victories, built on a solid batting platform and a bowling unit capable of bowling opponents out entirely, offers a clear template for the remaining matches as Nepal push up the standings.
ODI status on the line in the final League 2 series
The stakes for Nepal in this series are significant. This is the final series of League 2, and Nepal are aiming to secure a top-six finish that would preserve their ODI status. For an associate nation, One Day International status is a foundational asset: it allows a team to play official one-day internationals and keeps it within the international structure from which future qualification campaigns are built.
Nepal's national squad for the League 2 series was announced ahead of the campaign, as reported by Onlinekhabar and My Republica, with Lamichhane entrusted with the captaincy. Consecutive wins over Canada and Oman have now strengthened Nepal's hand as the series unfolds.
The challenge ahead is to convert this momentum into the results that secure a top-six finish. On Tuesday's evidence, with Paudel in strong form and a bowling attack that dismissed Oman for 150, Nepal head into the remainder of the final League 2 series with their ODI future resting firmly in their own hands.
