Nepal, Oman Qualify for ICC T20 World Cup 2024

Nepal and Oman have qualified for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup in US and West Indies. The two teams have entered the tournament through the qualification round. Nepal beat UAE by 8 wickets to seal a spot in the mega ICC tournament next year, while Oman thrashed Bahrain by 10 wickets to qualify.

In the semifinal 1 between Bahrain and Oman at Kirtipur, the former won the toss and elected to bat first. The Oman bowlers put up a collective effort with the ball as they restricted Bahrain to just 106/9 in 20 overs.

Aqib Ilyas was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed four wickets while Shakeel Ahmed picked two.

Imran Ali was the highest run-getter for Bahrain with a 30-run knock. Ahmer Nasir (26*) and Sarfaraz Ali (23) were the other two batters with double-digit scores for Bahrain

In reply, Kashyap Prajapati (57) and Pratik Athavale (50) scored fine half-centuries and guided Oman to a thumping win in 14.2 overs.

In the other match, Aasif Sheikh starred in Nepal’s 8-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates at Mulpani Cricket Ground, Kathmandu.

Kushal Malla (3/11) and Sandeep Lamichhane (2/14) were the standout performers with the ball for Nepal as UAE batters failed to put up a big score and posted 134/9 in 20 overs.

Wicketkeeper batter Vriitya Aravind scored a gritty half-century as his 64-run knock gave bowlers something to defend but it just didn’t work in their favour.

Chasing the target, Nepal lost Kushal Bhurtel early for 11 but Sheikh scored an unbeaten 64 runs off 51 balls to seal the spot for his team in the T20 World Cup.

Skipper Rohit Paudel also remained unbeaten on 34 as Nepal chased down the target in 17.1 overs.

For the first time, 20 teams will form part of the event and will be divided into four groups of five. The top two teams in each of the groups will move to a Super Eight phase, where the remaining teams will be split into two groups of four. The top two in each group will then make their way to the semi-finals.