WCL DIVISION 2
Canada consolidate top spot; Khadka-inspired Nepal down UAE
Cricbuzz Staff •
Paras Khadka scored a fifty and picked two wickets in Nepal's win © Getty
Canada made it three wins in a row with a complete performance against lowly Kenya, who have now lost two out of three fixtures so far. Opener Ruvindu Gunasekera's 99-ball 83 laid a strong platform but the middle-order did not make good use of it. Kenya bundled out Canada for 186, but struggled to surmount the sub-par target. Saad Zafar and Navneet Dhaliwal picked three wickets each as Kenya folded for 127.
Brief Scores: Canada 186 in 46.2 overs (Ruvindu Gunasekera 83; Rakep Patel 2-33) beat Kenya 127 in 39.1 overs (Rakep Patel 32;Navneet Dhaliwal 3-15, Saad Zafar 3-30) by 59 runs
An all-round effort from captain Paras Khadka (2-20 & 51) helped Nepal to a four-wicket win in a rain-hit game that was shortened to 34-overs-a-side. Shaiman Anwar with 30 was UAE's top-scorer as Nepal's bowlers dug their teeth into the batting line-up. At one point, leggie Sandeep Lamichhane was even on a hat-trick, and finished with a spell of 3 for 30 in 7 overs. Sompal Karni made a bigger impact with the ball, snaring four UAE wickets for 30 runs in 7 overs.
In response, two batsmen on either side of the No.3 Khadka fell for single-digit scores as UAE attempted to snatch all the points away after posting just 114. But Khadka's 51 and a couple of lower-order stands saw Nepal through.
Brief Scores: UAE 114 in 31 overs (Shaiman Anwar 30; Sompal Karni 4-30) lost to Nepal 115/6 in 28.5 overs (Paras Khadka 51; Mohammad Naveed 2-17) by 4 wickets (D/L method)
Gerhard Erasmus performed a late heist on Oman as he revived Namibia's chase in absolute dramatic fashion. In chase of 166, his unbeaten 63 came after Bilal Khan had picked up a five-wicket haul and reduced Namibia to 65 for 7. A 92-run partnership with No.9 batsman JJ Smit (32) enabled a last-over victory by just two wickets.
Brief Scores: Oman 165 in 48.5 overs (Jatinder Singh 29; Jan Frylinck 2-16, Sarel Burger 2-24) lost to Namibia 166/8 in 49.4 overs (Gerhard Erasmus 63*; Bilal Khan 5-33) by 2 wickets
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