Harare: A six-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier play-offs helped Nepal to earn ODI status for the first time in their history.The major development means that the Himalayan nation is now the latest Associate team to gain ODI status by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
However, Nepal will not be able to participate in 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup as they had not made to the Super League of the ongoing Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.In the match held on Wednesday, Nepal won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Himalayan bowlers Sandeep Lamichhane and Dipendra Airee came all gun blazing and scalped four wickets each to dismiss PNG at a paltry 114 runs in just 27.2 overs.
In reply, Nepal also faced a poor start, losing two early wickets for just 13 runs. However, Dipendra Airee's 58-ball 50 rectified the early damage and helped his side see home with 162 balls to spare.Nepal skipper Paras Khadka and middle-order batsman Aarif Sheikh contributed with 20 and 26 runs respectively.Nepal will now face Netherlands in the seventh-place play-off in Kwekwe on Saturday while PNG will take on Hong Kong on the same day in Harare to for the ninth place.(UNI)