Kathmandu, Feb 25: In the final match of the triangular series within the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League Two held in Nepal, the host country faced a loss to the Netherlands by eight wickets.

Nepal set a target of 173 runs for victory, which the Netherlands achieved by losing only two wickets in 37.5 overs. Bikramjit Singh played a significant role in the Netherlands’ victory with a contribution of 58 runs. Additionally, Sybrand Englebrecht scored 46 runs, Michael Levitt added 39 runs, and Max O’Dowd contributed 28 runs to secure the win.

On the bowling front for Nepal, Lalit Rajvanshi and Dipendra Airee managed to take one wicket each. However, despite their efforts, Nepal couldn’t defend their target effectively.

Batting first after losing the toss, Nepal faced all-out in 49.3 overs, posting a total of 172 runs at the Tribhuvan University cricket ground in Kirtipur. Kushal Bhurtel was the standout performer for Nepal, scoring 66 runs off 93 balls with eight fours. Karan KC and Arif Shaikh chipped in with 26 runs and 22 runs, respectively. However, the rest of the batting lineup couldn’t contribute significantly, with only a few double-digit scores.

The Netherlands’ bowlers Aryan Dutt and Vivian Kingma claimed three wickets each, supported by Bas de Liede with two wickets and Rolf van der Merwe with one wicket.

With this victory, the Netherlands now holds four points in the competition. The team previously defeated Namibia by seven wickets in the first match but suffered a loss against Namibia by 24 runs in the second match.

As for Nepal, they have collected two points in the League-2 tournament. Nepal secured a convincing nine-wicket win over the Netherlands and achieved victories against Namibia by four wickets and two wickets in the first and second matches, respectively.

Namibia currently leads the standings with three wins and six points, followed by the Netherlands in second place with four points. Nepal occupies the third position with two points, having won one and lost three matches in the series.