KATHMANDU, March 3: Nepal has taken the first wicket against Papua New Guinea in the ICC World Cup League-2 triangular ODI series. Sandeep Lamichhane took the first wicket for Nepal. Sandeep, who came to bowl in the 10th over, took the first wicket in 3 balls. At that time, Papua New Guinea was 42 runs for the loss of one wicket.
Papua New Guinea won the toss and decided to bat first in this match which is being held at Dubai International Cricket Ground in the UAE.
Papua New Guinea is playing with 44 runs after losing one wicket in 11 overs.
Nepal thrashes Papua New Guinea by nine wickets
Nepal is in sixth place with 28 points with 13 losses and 15 wins in 30 matches. Papua New Guinea is at the bottom with 7 points from 30 matches with 3 wins and 26 losses. Nepal will have to win all the remaining 6 matches to qualify for the ODI World Cup by being placed in the top three. Being in the top five, Nepal needs four wins to get ODI recognition directly.
Nepal was defeated by 68 runs by home team UAE on Thursday. Chasing a winning target of 280 runs, Nepal was all out for 139 runs in 31.5 overs. While Nepal's Kushal Malla scored 60 runs, none of the other batsmen could perform well. Nepal needs good batting in today's match.
Nepal has made one change in the team in today's match. In the place of fast bowler Gulshan Jha, Nepal has given a chance to Bhim Sarki today. No other changes have been made to the team.
Nepal playing 11
Rohit Paudel (Captain), Dipendra Singh Airee, Gyanendra Mall, Asif Sheikh, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Kushal Bhurtel, Bhim Sarki,, Kushal Mall, Sandeep Lamichhane, Aarif Sheikh.
