Nepal Qualified for T20 World Cup 2026, Defeat Oman by 38 Runs

Kathmandu: Nepal defeated Oman by 38 runs in a Super Six match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia & EAP Qualifier held on Wednesday at Al Amerat, Oman.

Chasing a target of 152 runs, Oman managed to score only 113 runs for nine wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Earlier, Nepal posted 151 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Opener Kushal Bhurtel top-scored with a solid 69 runs off 51 balls, while fellow opener Aasif Sheikh contributed 24 runs off 20 balls. Aadil Ansari added 16 runs off 15 balls, and Gulshan Jha made a quick 18 runs off 10 balls towards the end.

In the bowling department, Gulshan Jha starred with three wickets, while Nandan Yadav and Sompal Kami took two wickets each. Sandeep Lamichhane also claimed one wicket.

For Oman, Binayak Shumla was the top scorer with 32 runs off 19 balls, followed by Mohammad Nadeem with 25 runs. On the bowling side, Nadeem Khan was impressive, taking four wickets for just 20 runs in his four overs. Jiten Kumar Ramanandi and Sufyan Mehmood claimed two wickets each.

Nepal, which has already qualified for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February to March 2026, currently sits at the top of the points table with eight points, while Oman stands second with six.

Nepal will play its final Super Six match against Samoa on Friday. RSS