By Grockle
October 11 2026

The second of the 6 games in Oman to move sides closer to 2027 ODI WC qualification.  The Canadians need to bounce back after losing to Oman on Friday and it will be interesting to see if Nepal are still the force they were this time last year in this kind of tournament.  The crowds might be bigger as well though in Oman this is a working day but the Nepalese tend to turn up for their side's games.  Canada have won the toss and will take the field first to test the Nepalese batting.

CWC Tri Tournament - Canada v Nepal @Turf1 Al Amerat Muscat Sunday 11 October 2026

Scorecard

The first appearance of the Nepal side in this tournament.  A real powerhouse in the tournament to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup in Muscat last October but how have they fared during this year after a not so confident performance in the global competition after dominating the qualifiers.

Nepal will bat first against the Canadians who need a win in this one to stay a force in this competition.  Both these sides looking to push into the top half of the League 2 table.  Nepal are coming into this event after qualifying for the 2027 Asia Cup after a successful performance in the qualifying competition in Malaysia.

Arjun Kamal and Aasif Sheikh come to the middle to face the first over from Zahid Shirzad.  There is some zip this morning for the Canadian seamers and the first over is a solid line and length from the start. An extra is all they get from the first 6 and Arkil Kumar comes on at the other end and gives away a boundary from his first delivery.  But Sheikh is loose to the third ball as he edges to Johnson at first slip.  No real problems for the slip fielder and Nepal are 5 for 1 in the second over as the bat leaves with 4 from 3 and in comes Ishan Pandy at number 3.

Kumar makes sure Pandy's stay is not all that long as he gets him to nibble at the last ball of his third over with 10 on the board and he is caught low behind by keeper Tariq. Not a great start for the men from Nepal as the previous captain from last year's competition Rohit Paudel strides out to settle this innings.  He helps calm things and the batting side have moved to 14 for 2 by the 5th over against tight Canadian bowling, especially Kumar who has only 5 runs to his name from his initial overs.

Sukhjinder Singh and spin is introduced in the 9th at 24 for 2. He was a significant aspect of the North American attack versus Oman so they hope he'll have the same effect in this game.  He goes for 4 from his first and we mover to the last over of the 'Powerplay' as Kumar continues with his fifth.  

After 10 it is 34 for 2 with Paudel taking the lead role with 15 from the 24 balls he has faced.  Kumal is still there with 9 from 30.  The Canadians have decided to go with Tariq, the captain, keeping in this game after choosing not to in the last game.

Canada move to dual spin as Shakeel Patel comes on to give Kumar a breather in warm conditions after bowling an excellent first spell. The stadium is quieter than usual when there is a Nepal game on.  There were a lotof fans in the stands for the games this time last year but not today it seems- as mentioned above, Sunday is a working day in Oman so maybe that is a factor.  Nepal usually garner very loud and enthusisatic support wherever they rock up to play.

In the 16th Kumal goes to drive Singh and edges to Johnson at slip and he doesn't hold on to one in front of his face that he really should have caught.  Singh then misses his length and a four off the next ball takes Nepal past 50 to 52 for 2 with Kumal going to 19 from 51 with the over the top boundary while Paudel has moved to 23 from 41.  The drop seems to have flustered Canada as the next ball from the spinner is also off line and Nepal have consecutive fours.  However, cricket can be unpredicatable and at the end of the same over, Johnson redeems himself with a very sharp one handed slip catch, with a fumble as well to be fair, though it is more of a one handed parry to keep the ball up while he gets his other hand on it to take a very sharp catch. Kumal is walking back to the dressing room at 56 for 3 at the end of the 17th.  He scored 23 from 53 and the Canadians all hug the big man at slip.

Basir Ahamad is the next man in and he and Paudel move the score to 64 for 3 after 20 overs with a hard chance being put down in the covers to give Rohit a life in that last over.  The fielder got a hand to it but could only parry it and save the boundary.

Canada have moved to Harsh Thaker at the Academy end toreplace Singh.  He bowled a maiden in his first (the 22st) and continues with the 23rd which goes for a single only.  Progress is slow as the Canadians are keeping the bowling tidy.  Paudel does look to push the score along with the first six of the innings off the first ballof Patel's 7th over on the bounce.  He was very frugal against Oman and has only gone for 15 from his first 6 today as well.  Paudel is retaining the leading role for Nepal amd he is importantin this innings because he will need to push on in the latter part of the 50 overs if Nepal is to set a competitive target score.  The next man in is the 'star' of the Nepalese batting line-up and the hope is that there will be a base for Dipendra Singh Airee to build on when the next wicket falls.  Paudel is living dangerously as he edges just wide of Johnson in the slips with a slash which is not his first.  He has had lives and is working to benefit from the chances.

After 25 overs, at 81 for 3, Canada return to the seam of Shirzad to see if they canmake something happen.  Paudel  has moved on to 43 from 65 and is most definitely the lead bat in this partnership as Amahad only has 5 from the 24 balls he has faced.  The seamer's 5th goes for 3 as he starts a spell working with Thaker as Patel gets a rest.

A good knock from Rohit Paudel reaches a 13th half century for his country at 92 for 3. The 50 came from 75 balls with 4 fours and a six at the end of the 28th over.  This is an important score in the context of the game as the run rate is not great at about 3.3and there will be a need for it to move up a level in the 30 overs with Airee and Gulshan to come.  Setting the base for the stroke-makers is Paudel's job in the next phase of the innings.  The 100 is appearing over the horizon as Shirzad takes the 30th at 95 for 3. Ahamad needs to now push on, something he has been slow to do, while Paudel anchors this innings home if possible. 98 for 3 at 30 is not far enough along to generate a score in excess of 250 without some serious work in the next 20 overs.

Canada are effectively operating a long term 'press' on Nepal.  Despite the fact that they move to 101 after 31 overs, Thaker (14 off 6) and Shirzad (25 off 7) have held the opposition in check and now Akhil Kumar returns for a second spell with 1 for 16 from his first 5.  The pressure is definitely on the Nepal batting pair as we move towards the 'sharp end' of the first half of this game.

The 50 run partnership arrives at 109 with 53 from 90 balls and a 22/31 contribution from Kumar and Paudel respectively.  Ahamad is starting to open his shoulders a little, as he needs to do if this total is to move well over 200 though anything beyond 250 is a considerable 'ask' from this position.  Between the 30th and the 35th over the run rate goes up to over 6 as the pair realise they have to get on with it.  By the end of the 35th Nepal have 131 for 3.  250 is now lloking a little more possible if they can go at around 10 an over for the next 15.  The commentators seem to think that Singh may be their weapon trying to keep the scoring in check.  He is re-introduced for the 36th having gone for only 24 off his first 6 overs.

At 133, towards the end of the over, Ahamad pushes forward to one that is not quite as low on the bat as he though and he limply returns the ball to the grateful bowler who takes the catch and sends the bat on his way for 30 from 57 caught and bowled Singh.  The partnership is broken and the 'fireworks' are about to start as Dipendra Singh Airee comes to the middle!  In 29 matches in the CWC 2nd Division he has 796 runs at a strike rate of over 84 so Nepal expects in the next 14.

A few more supporters have arrived towards the end of the innings and the noise has started to rise.  BUT the Singh versus Singh battle is won by the Canadian as Sukhjinder Singh bowls Dipendra Singh Airee through the gate with the 5th ball of the 38th for 6 at 141 for 5.  It looked like the 'arm ball' and it fooled the Nepal bat completely.  In comes Gulshan Jah but not in the position Nepal would have desired as he was supposed to come in and finish the innings with a flourish alongside Airee. They now have to re-assess with 12 overs to go and Paudel still has a job to do for his side. 

The 40th over ends with 148 on the board.  Jha has 2 from5 and Paudel has 77 from 107.  A boundary off Singh from Gulshan early in the next takes Nepal past the 150 mark to 152 as Patel returns.  Just 4 from the over takes the bowler to 29 fropm his 9 overs and Singh will bowl out with the 43rd of the innings.  Jha takeshim for a six in the middle of the over and he ends with 3 for 44 from his 10.   Patel will also bowl out with the 44th as Nepal come into it at 166 for 5.  He also get some Gulshan 'tap' with consecutive sixes at the end of his final over to move the score to 181 for 5 and Patel finishes with a little bit of tarnish on his figures of 0 for 44 from his 10.  Still commendable though from both of Canada's premier spin twins.

Shirzad is back for the 45th and he is joined by Kumar for the 46th as the Nepalese start to eye a score over 200 at least.  Paudel takes 11 off the over to confirm that the score will be in the 200s and he moves himself to a gigantic part of that score reaching 98 from over 120 deliveries in the heat.  He goes to 99 with a quick single at the start of the 47th and then returns to the strike to face Shirzad.  He sweeps around the corner to get the run and Rohit Paudel becomes the first Nepalese bat to reach 100 in an international ODI with 100 from 125 balls with 8 fours and a six.  A massive knock in this game and a significant milestone for his country into the bargain.  He came to the middle at 10 for 2 and takes the 100 at 206 for 5.  There are 3 overs to go with 209 the present total.

Canada now need to keep the pressure on as their players seem to be flagging in the heat at the end of the innings.  Kumar has 2 left as he starts the 48th with a wide. Gulshan Jha is looking to throw everything at the ball in the last overs.  He produces a hatrick of fours to take himself to 48 but then after another wide he skies one straight into the hands of Samit Gohel coming in from the boundary and he departs at 223 for 6 with 48 from 34 bringing Karan KC to the crease for the last 13 balls of the innings.

Zahir Shirzad bowls out with the 49th.  In the middle of it a very tired Paudel looks to hit the ball striaght back over the bowler's head but manages to sky the balloff a leading edge and he is caught on the edge of the cut strip by Movva for a match saving 101 off 127 balls at 227 for 7.   Out comes Nandan Yadav with a mere 9 balls left in this part of the contest.  He lasts until the end of the order an scores 2 as Shirzad completes his bowling work with 10 overs 2 for 42.

Kumar is the last Canadian bowler to bowl out with the ultimate over and he starts it with a wicket as KC leaves the field of play after hitting one high wide and handsome out to Singh on the boundary.  He goes for 4 from 3 at 231 for 8.  Captain Sandip Lamichhane arrives and almost immediately Yadav departs  run out to a direct hit from keeper Hamza Tariq picking up a good throw in from Aaditya Varadharajan and breaking the stumps at the non striker's end with a direct hit as the Nepal pair go for a second run the very next ball.  232 for 9 with the last man in.  Lalit Rajbanshi comes in for the last 3 balls and is caught by Thaker off the last ball of the innings after making 2 and the Nepalese are all out for 235 with Akhil Kumar ending an excellent 10 overs with figures of 4 for 68.  

It's a decent score. but Nepal will have to bowl well and take early wickets if they want to defend it.  Paudel held their innings together against some very tight Canadian bowling which held the in form batting line-up to a lowish score that they would expect to be able to reach in 50 overs. 

The Reply

Aaron Johnson and Yuvraj Samra walk out to start the response against the initial new ball attack of Nandan Yadav and Karan KC.  These four have all faced each other before here.  After some initial sparring and the first boundary from Johnson, KC gets first blood as Samra tries to play across the line to a striaght ball in the 4th and is adjudged LBW in front for 1 from 12 with the score on 10 for 1.  He leaves the middle and is replaced by Samit Gohil (Gohel? Two different spellings on thesame website!!) who has come into this match as a replacement for Ajayveer Hundal

The fifth over sees an early change as Lalit Rajbanshi comes on with spin and goes for 3 in his first.  Progress is slow with Canada strolling along at about 3 runs an over when they need about 5 so as wemove towards theend of the 'Powerplay'  Johnson looksto move the score alongut they only have 37  as the first phase of the innings ends with Johnson on 20 from 28 and his second partner Gohil taking the supporting role with 12 from 20.  There is no real rush however as they still easily enough overs to push the score on later if they want to.

In the eleventh, Johnson stamps down on the acceleratorpedal and hits Yadav for 3 consectutive fours, the last one the best of the trio, to bring up the Canadain 50 in 65 balls.  It moves him on to a run a ball 32 while Gohil has added an extra 1 to his score.

The 50 partnership arrives in the 13th, the first bowled by skipper Lamichhane, at 60 for 1, 52 from 57 balls and the major contribution made by Johnson of 34 from 30.

At 15 overs with a score of 70 for 1 the players take their first drinks break and re-assess the position.  Canada need 166 from 210 balls and Nepal need wickets or this one is going to get away from them!! Airee is introduced to see if he can change the situation but it is the captain at the other end who gets the breakthrough after the break as Johnson looks to send him to the boundary but his shot does not have the legs and it finds Gulshan in front of the Academy buildings with the score on 73 for 2 at the start of the 17th.  The big Canadian goes for 44 from 49 balls and is replaced by Varadharajan who was significant in the innings against the home side Oman at the start of the weekend.  But he will not be significant in this game as a lusty drive at his first ball finds the outside edge and the hands of Kumal at first slip to send him on his way for a duck and introduce Harsh Thaker to the middle.  Lamichhane does not get the hatrick but he has changed the complexion of the innings a little as we move past the 17th over.

By the 20th the new pair have settled into their task a little and the score has moved to 84 for 3 and Gohil seems to have taken up the lead role in the new pairing. Rajbanshi is back into the attack after his first 5 (for 22) with Gohil on 27 and Thaker on 2.  In the 23rd over a bit of Canadian wandering and sharp Nepalese fielding sees Gohil run out  thinking about coming for a single and then not getting back in time as Airee picks the ball up and pings it back to the keeper.  A good decision by the umpire which the replay confirms.  Gohil is on his way for 35 from 59 and it is 94 for 4 with Thaker having very little to his name and the new man arriving at the crease being Sheryas Movva he is off the mark quickly with a single.

Lammichhane is back for the 25th and finishes his 5th over with figures of 2 for 11.  Meanwhile, at the halfway point, Canada are 2 runs from 100 with Thaker on 6 from 22 and the new man Movva on 2 from 7.  The batting side need 138 from 150 balls and are still ahead of the 'run a ball' requirement with half their overs to come and over half their wickets still in play.  The 100 arrives in the next over with a single from Movva 

Gulshan Jha comes into the attack for the 26th over and becomes the sixth bowler used by Nepal.  As he finishes the 30th over, Canada have moved on to  123 for 4 with Thaker on 15 from 35 and Movva on 17 from 23.  The rate is moving at just over 4 and the RRR is moving towards 6 anover so the pressure is starting to ramp up though it is still only just over 100 runs needed in 20 overs given that.

Rajbanshi comesback on for his last spell and with the second ball of his 9th he watches Thaker shuttle up the wicket, miss the ball and be bowled by a straight one.  Harsh leans over his bat thinking "what have I done" while the bowler celebrates with his inner field.  Canada lose their 5th at 124 halfway through the 21st over. 

After the drinks break thenext man to the middle is the captain Hamza Tariq who still has a job that needs doing one would say and it is getting harder with every change of the conditions in the game.  It seems so hard to accelerate in these lowscoring games when the opposition keep changing the goalposts by nagging at you with wicket losses.

The runs required falls to less than 100 with just over 16 overs to go.  To celebrate this Sheryas Movva hits Airee for six off the next ball and after 34 the score has moved to 145 for 5. Rajbanshi bowls out in the 35th but before he does he gets one past Movva who feathers it just enough that Sheikh behind the stumps can claim the catch.  He goes for 26 from 34 at 145 for 6 and the skipper is joined in the middle by Akhil Kumar and again the pressure ramps up a level.  Tariq is now the important bat that needs to remain to take his country home in this one.

The 150 arrives in the 36th off the bowling of KC and the bat of Tariq.  88 runs required or 4 wickets to decide the victor.  As the game moves towards the final phase in the 40th over, KC finds thetoe of the Canadian skipper's bat which makes a six hit go miles in the air and gives Ahamad time to get under it and take the catch.  Tariq goes for 26 from 29 but more importantly the last real bat departs at 166 for 7 with over 50 run still needed off 10 overs.  Sheel Patel joins Kumar and it is left to the bowlers to get the team home or lose the game to the plucky 'Heartattack Kids'.

Alongside the pressure that is now on Canada comes the feeling of inevitability as bat after bat gets a start and then does not kick on.  It starts to nag at each succesive bat as they walk out to the middle thinking this may just not be their day.  Meanwhile in the field each wicket brings an increase in hope for the fielding side that this just might be THEIR day at the same time.  It's like Chinese water torture tapping at the brain.

Yadav returns for the 41st and Canada take the ask under 60 in the 43rd as Patel moves to 7 and Kumar has 13.  The bats need boundaries but the noise is increasing from the Nepal support so it tends to suggest that they aren't going to come and the hope of the fans is rising - though they make noise for their side irrespective of what is going on on the pitch.

Airee returns for the 44th after Ahamad is used for an over (which goes for 6) to change ends. But it may not matter as halfway through the over a complete miscommunication between the batting pair sees themstood in the middle of the pitch as the fielder fires in the return and the wickets are broken by Aasif the Nepal keeper.  At  187 for 8, Patel is run out just not going for the run and he goes for 8 from 13.  they still need more than 50 and only have 2 wickets left.  An easy 'jog in' has become something else entirely and they do not look like they are going to make this I'm afraid.  Shirzad is in with Kumar and they have yet to pass 200.  He has made 2 from 6 balls before his agricultural 'hoick' to the bowling of Yadavflies off the inside edge into his stumps and bowls him for the couple of runs at 194 for 9.  It is all over bar the shouting I'm afraid and a veru disappointing batting display from the Canadians is about to end as Singh joins Kumar who has been becalmed at other end watching the mayhem fora couple of overs.

Meanwhile the Nepal Skipper Sandeep Lamichhane finishes the 46th and his 10 over spell with 2 for 33, a not insignificant contribution to what looks like a Nepal win today. Yadav continues with the 48th as Canada still need 41 and at the end of that one they still need 40 and that means they need at least 2 a ball from the last 18 balls.

The 200 does arrive before the last wicket falls as Singh gives it the long handle and although he doesn't find the boundary, he does find enough space to get to the second 100 off KC.  It ought to be mentioned that, at the moment the Nepalese boundary fielding is almost superhuman as more than one boundary is saved by athleticism, especially from Paudel or teamwork between pairs of players in the field.  The 48th goesfor 10 but it could have been more and the only thing that can be said is "where was this effort to push the score in the late 30 overs guys?"

The penultimate over is Yadav's and the Canadian bats are swinging at everything and eventually it is going to happen. Singh wafts at one and gets a leading edge.  It goes straight up and Yadav decides it is his and runs and dives to take the caught and bowled.  Singh is out for 8 from 11.  Kumar is undfeated with 30 from 40.  Canada are all out for 211 and Nepal take the game by 24 runs with Yadav finishing with 2 for 42 from his 8.4 overs.  Nepal just kept nagging away and Canada folded under the incessant pressure to slump tioi their second loss of the weekend. 

Lots of double figure scores for the Canucks but none going on past the 50 mark which left too much for the back end to do.  Excellent bowling from the Nepalese with no bowler with a significant number of overs going for more than 5 per over with KC being the other bowler to take 2 in his 8 overs for the loss of 36 runs.

The usual all round great performance by Nepal and we move on to the third clash as they take on the Omanis on Tuesday. 

The Player of the Match was - ROHIT PAUDEL for his century and phenomenal fielding display on the boundary

Associate TriTournament - Canada v Nepal

Discussion started by Grockles.com , 11/10/2026 06:56

Grockles.com
11/10/2026 06:56

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Grockle
11/10/2026 11:08

ICC commentary is variable to say the least. they do a great job of covering all kinds of cricket live that is not picked up elsewhere but it does mean there is some weird stuff. the first half of the game between Canada and Nepal this morning is in faultless English. Then after the change of innings we suddenly go into South East Asian dialects with masses of 'English' thrown in among the rapid fire language.

Buzz buzz buzz 'Lovely action, Lovely timing' buzz buzz buzz 'deep powers of concentration' buzz buzz buzz 'first class wickets' and so on.

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