By Grockle
October 15 2025

After a rest day on Tuesday the final phase of this competition gets underway with 3 games on Day 3 of the Super 6 part of the event.  In the morning a game vital to Qatar if they are to have any chance of moving to the T20 World Cup in India against the Japanese who really do have a chance of getting there.  Qatar needs the points.  Japan already have some.  In the middle of the day UAE also need to get some points against the Samoans if they are to keep their hopes alive while the two sides in the forefront of qualifying meet in the evening fixture when Oman take on the 'Cardiac Kids' of Nepal in front of what will probably be a pro Nepalese crowd IN Oman!!  The game of the tournament?  Well it could be but the Omanis have to turn up for that to happen.  There is little doubt on the past few days that the Nepalese will!!

Game 6 - Super 6's - Japan v Qatar @ Turf 2 Al Amerat Oman Wednesday 15 October 2025

Qatar won the toss and put Japan in and that means that Kendall Felming and Abishek Anand start another game opening the batting for Japan.  For them the opening bowling is pretty new every time and this time they are facing the new ball pair of Mohammed Baig and Ikramullah Khan.  

Baig takes the first over and is on the money immediately as Fleming leaves the middle caught by Shahzaib Jamil without bothering the scorers and Japan are one down (and an important one) for 1 extra (wide).  Lachan Lake makes his debut in the tournament I think at number 3 with Baig doing what he has done for his side all series making important breakthroughs at important times.

It's 2 for 1 after that over but Lake gets into his work in the next taking 10 from Khan with the first six of the game in there moving the score to 12 after 2.  Anand gets his first boundary off Baig before the Qatari resets the parameters of the game by removing Lake caught by Owais Ahmed for the 10 from the previous over at a total of 17 for 2.  Eesam Rahman strides out to the crease but fails to add any more during the one ball left of the over.  The Japanese bat faces his 'almost namesake' as Mujeeb Ur Rehman takes the next with the ball.  The batting side add 7 for the fourth and thanks to a four and 5 wides in Baig's 3rd they add 11 in the 5th.  

After the last 'Powerplay' over and with some tight bowling from Rehman Japan have reached 38 for 2 and Qatar ring the changes with Daniel Archer Louis taking the 7th for 7 and Owais Ahmed coming on for the 8th and going for 8, including an Anand six to bring up the Japanese 50.  They complete it on 53 for 2.

That shot is about the last thing of significance Anand does in this innings as he is caught and bowled by Louis in the next over for a run a ball 25 including 3 fours and a six at 55 for 3.  This brings Ben Ito-Davis to the crease who was very prominent in a Japanese headband at the end of the last Japanese victory!!

Rahman and Ito-Davis have reached 59 for 3 by the halfway point at the end of 10 overs.  They take the drinks break and then start the second half of the innings working through a tight 3 run over from Muhammed Asim.  The Rahman v Rehman duel then returns with the Japanese bat probably winning the next 6 ball tussle as he finishes the over with a 6 six moving his side to 73 for 3.  The batting pair are looking to be in for a time and their next target is 3 figures as quickly as possible - it finally comes from a second run taken by Rahman off Khan halfway through the 17th and a little later than they would have probably wanted it for their final total. 

Rahman has had a significant role in many of Japan's batting scores in this series and seems to be deter. mined to add another one here.  He reaches his personal 50 in 42 balls at 118 at the end of the 18th with Ito-Davis supporting with 25 from 28 balls.

In the 19th a crunching collison between Jamil and Arif on the boundary rope leaves Shahzaib with the support staff and a sub on the field while Rahman continues to put bat to ball and produces another six some 2 balls later to help move the Japanese to 131 with 6 balls to go. 

Mirza Baig bowls the last over and again seems to be bowling a number of wides which are unusual for him.  Ito-Davis retires for some reason early in the over for 31 runs from 32 balls which brings Takahashi to the crease to complete the innings.  That happens at 139 for 4 With Takahashi on 3 and Rahman on 60 from 47

Qatar need 140 for the points and Liyanage and Zubair Ali look to start the collection of runs against the Japanese attack with 6 from the first.  Takahashi takes the first over with Sugaya-Slater taking the second - a frugal one going for only 3 with one a wide.  The spinner remains for the third and has Liyanage LBW for 6 after he hits a four off the first ball of the over.  13 for 1 and Shariq Munir comes to the crease at number 3.   The new pair don't move the score on in the third but have progressed to 24 for 1 by the end of the fourth.

Takahashi continues into the fifth and that statement of faith in his bowling is rewarded as he removes Zubair Ali for 6 from 11 via the hands of Charles Hinze at 26 for 2.  Out comes Muhammed Asim at number 4 to rebuild the front end of the Qatari innings.  

Hinze comes on to bowl the sixth and complete the 'Powerplay'.  The batting pair reach 36 for 2 and it seems Ito-Davis is well enough to bowl as he takes the seventh and goes for a mere 3 runs as the game continues towards the 10 over drinks break.

A new debutant to this series is introduced in the 8th over as the most definitely Japanese Makoto Taniyama bowls the 8th and has a harsh introduction as Asim and Munir both hit him out of the ground and an Asim four followed by a single brings up the Qatari 50.  The over ends at 56 for 2 following the Munir six.

Hinze tightens up the 9th with only 4 more runs allowed and the game moves to the 10th with that 'last ball of the first half' gremlin appearing again as Ito-Davis bowls Asim to send back to the dressing room for his drink at halftime.  He departs with 24 from 20 with twice as many sixes as his only four.

The 11th starts with a new batting pair as Mohammed Tanveer has joined the party though Munir faces the first ball from Declan Suzuki at 75 for 3.  That becomes 78 for 3 and 84 for 3 after Hinze's next.  The problem for Qatar is that they can't get a partnership settled before another wicket goes.  That is the case in the 13th as Suzuki gets an edge from Munir which is gratefully snapped up by Lake.   Munir goes for a valuable 41 from 29 with 3 more sixes than his one four but it is another innings that has started and then stopped at 87 for 4 and it is the higher run maker that has gone once again.

Baig joins the fray with another job to do for his faltering side.  At 88 for 4 against Ito-Davis they set about the task and push the score to 97 at the end of the 14th with Tanveer getting the long handle out.  They push the score past 3 figures as Takahashi returns to bowl out in the 15th.  The 3 figures comes with a Baig four as the Japanese spinner finishes with excellent figures of 4 overs 2 for 20.

105 for 4 leaves Qatar with 53 needed from the 30 balls left in this contest.  Baig and Tanveer are perfectly capable of getting these if they can stay in. But neither of them do as Ito-Davis does major damage in the 16 having Baig (9) caught by Slater early in it and then Tanveer (13) caught by Suzuki at the end of it.  In the 17th, Jamil arrives and departs as Baig's replacement and then bowled by Hinze for 2.

Ikramulah (in for Tanveer) and Louis (just arrived for Jamil) are left with the task of getting there with 3 overs left and 108 on the scoreboard and 3 more wickets gone.

A four from the first ball of the 18th is a step in the right direction but Suzuki doesn't get much more than that against the new man Louis.  It is only 113 for 7 with 2 to go so the Qataris are in another of those scoreboard pressure situations needing 27 from 12 with boundaries being at a premium. 

Sugaya-Slater takes the penultimate over and Ikramullah is willing to have a go for this total and hits a six early with Louis also getting in on the act with a four.  Another 5 from singles and twos reduces the ask to 11 from the final over bowled by Suzuki. 

Louis gets them there with a four and only 2 balls to go. 

Qatar finally got home in a game and they take the points to lift their hopes of still having a say in who goes to India next year.  Japan do not add to their total points but the Arabs now finally have 2 points to come into contention for the 3rd spot (with UAE and Japan) at the moment with Oman and Nepal out in front with 3 wins and 6 points each.  

Man of the Match - Shariq Munir

Game 7 Super 6's - Samoa v UAE @Turf 1 Al Amerat Oman Wednesday 15 October 2025

Samoa choose to bowl first in a game they must feel they have to win to stay relevant in this competition. With Qatar winning against Japan this morning this game has points the Samoans want badly and UAE have not exactly covered themselves in glory so far though a coupe of their losses were by the slimest of margins.

Caleb Jasmat will open the bowling with Fatu Tiai taking the first over

While Sharafu will open with Waseem for the Emirates as has been the case so far.  This does not go as well as it has in the past as Waseem is caught by Ross Taylor after the first boundary from Sharafu in the first over.  It ends with 5 on the board, the first bat leaves with zero and he is replaced by Mayank Rajesh Kumar.  The second over from the skipper sees another four from Sharafu and that is it so it is 9 for 1 going onto the 3rd.

We move on to 13 for 1 after the 3d and Soloman Nash (son on Dion it seem) comes on for the fourth.  This one does not go as well for Samoa as Sharafu gets his radar working and sends Nash over the rope for consecutive sixes in the second half.   29 for 1 sees Jasmat change ends for the 5th but both Emiratis have their eyes in now and two more boundaries take the score to 40 for 1 as we move towards the end of the 'Powerplay'

Tiai also changes ends and we see the UAE 50 arrive with a single at the end of the over which is completed at 51 for 1.   Daniel Burgess returns to the side and takes the next over  but the return is not a glorious one as his first over goes for 22 with 3 consecutive sixes by Sharafu (during which he records an indiviual 50) and progession to 73 for 1 by the end of the 7th.   Visser works hard to pull this back in the 8th and goes for only 2.  Then Nash returns and breaks through by getting Kumar LBW for 17 from 18 at 78 for 2.

In comes Chopra and he helps take it to 82 for 2 with 6 singles from Visser making the halfway score 88 for 2 and drinks.   

Nash is back for the 11th  and with a six from Sharafu and a last ball boundary from Chopra the UAE pass 100 to 103 for 2.  It's 111 by the start of the next one, the last bowled by Visser.  Then Fatu Tiai  looks to finish his bowling for the day with the 13th.  Sharafu on 81 at about 2 runs a ball must be looking at the possibility of the first century of this tournament as he seems to be seeing the ball like a balloon.  The big Samoan geos for 11 and finishes with 1 for 31 while UAE move to 122 and Sharafu moves to 82.

Chopra then seems to come alive and hits 3 sixes in 4 balls in the 14th, finishing with four before stealing the strike for the 15th.  It moves him into the 40's and his side into the high 140s with 5 to go

The 16th sees Mailata for the frst time today and a single moves the Emirates to the 150 barrier. They cross it with a six and Chopra is eyeing his own 50 at the start of the 17th bowled by Nash.  The end of Sharafu comes short of 3 figures at 160 for 3 with 86 from 51 balls and another brilliant contribution for his side.  In comes Kaushik to take his place.

166 for 3 with 3 to go is a decent total and no one is sure how high it can go as Chopra seems to have decided to take it on as he reaches 50 (31) from a single at the end of the over.  He then hits a six to go to 56 from the first ball, a six from the second ball to go to 62 and then he is out for 62 from 34 balls caught by Visser off the bowling of Mailata at 178 for 4.

The new man is Parashar and he takes a single to put Kaushik on strike who hits a six and a single to move the score to 185 for 4 with 12 balls to go.  Can they get this over 200?   Well as Kaushik hits 20 off the Samoan captain Jasmat in the next over the answer is 'yes'.   Jasmat finishes on 40 from his 4.  The last comes from Samson Sola (another returnee to the side) and Kaushik takes him for two sixes while Parashar also takes a four in the final over of 19 runs.  UAE end on 225 for 4 with Harshit Kaushik taking 40 from only 12 balls which is a monumental effort.

It's a huge total and Samoa will do well to get within 50 runs of it.

The reply does not start well as Visser completely misjudges the line from Siddique and is bowled comprehensively first ball. Solia will start this reply with Mailata instead it seems.  2 for 1 with only 1 coming off the bat is not going to get them there.  It leaves them needing 224 from 19 overs at just under 12 an over now!!  What is the strategy for a side seeing this as their task  Any time taken 'getting in' adds to the scoreboad pressure and 'going for it' is a risk.  In the end you just have to say to players that they need play their own game while being aware of the massive 'ask' they have to work with.

Parashar takes the second and Solia dies 'going for it' as he is caught in the deep on the last ball at 13 for 2 after hitting a four the ball before.  In comes French moved up the order to get the score moving one would imagine.  They need 216 from 108 balls so "good luck that man".

It's 21 for 2 after 3 and Haider Ali is on to bowl and they cut it down to "only" 200 needed by the end of it at 25 or 2.  Mialata showed willing hitting Siddique for six in the second and he now hits consecutive fours from Zahid Ali in the fourth and a third moves Samoa to 37 for 2. After 6 the score has moved to 50. After 7 it is 54.  It makes no difference who the bowler is unless the score moves forward by double figures at the least and it isn't doing that.  The 8th starts to look more like it as Farooq is hit by French for 2 sixes and 14 comes off the over to move the score to 68 for 2.

The problem is not just scoring the runs but keeping the big hitters in the middle.  Ben Mailata is one of those and he is caught by Sharafu in the next over and leaves for 39 from 32 off the bowling of Irfan.  His 4 fours and 2 sixes are what his side needs but at 70 for 3 he is gone.

Tiai is the next man in and he can support French but they both have to stay there and support each other and as French is caught by Kaushik off the bowling of Farooq for 25 from 20 (with 3 sixes) 2 balls from the 10 over drinks break (happens a lot that) at 76 for 4 that situation will simply not be happening

At the halfway point they are nowhere near halfway to the total.  They need 150 from 60 balls!!!  The only obective for Samoa must be to bat out the full 20 overs for pride.  With that in mind, Nash is in and out in one ball before the 10th over ends LBW to Farooq so it comes down to 50 runs or 5 wickets.

Feriti SuluLoto has shown his ability to hit a ball during the earlier part of this series so there is hope of something in the second half of this innings.  He starts the eleventh but Irfan ensures that Tiai doesn't finish it as he bowls him for 5.  That brings in Jasmat at the end of the 11th.

Farooq sends Sululoto back to the dressing room caught for 1 by Parashar. The pain does not end that over however as the next man in Sola who hits 2 consecutive fours from his first two balls is caught by Sharafu and departs for the 8.

It's 90 for 8 at the end of the 12th.  Burgess is in with his skipper and they are stil ltogether at the end of the 13th with 96 on the board.  They take that to over 100 with a Jasmat four in the 14th.  At 15 it's 110 for 8 with Haider Ali taking the 16th.  They take it to halfway before the end of that over with 114 for 8.  Only just over 100 in 18 balls - no problem.

127 for 8 puts the runs required under 100 with 9 balls to go and it's 131 with an over left.  There is no way this will go to any other result than a UAE win so one would expect the Samoans to do nothing more than play these balls out and finish the game with men still not in.  

Zahid Ali bowls the final over and there is still power in the bats as Jasmat splits the field for four.  He then puts one over the rope for six though Mayank makes a valiant effort to catch it.  With a ball to go at 144 for 8 they might go for the six.  They do, but it bounces inside the rope and they finish with 148 for 8 and the UAE win by 77 runs.

It was pretty inevitable.  Unless you are passing 50 well before the 'Powerplay' is over, you are a long eway from getting these scores over 200.  It was the highest by a margin in the tournament and would have needed a Herculean effort to get close to it. Losing an opener from the first ball probably took the wind out of any sails the Samoans thought they had and from then on it gradually became - survive until the 20th over.

The quote from the Samoan's was "We weren't overly smart in that one"  That about summed it up.

Man of the Match - Muhammed Farooq

So the present position in the table is that

Nepal have won all their games (v Japan v Qatar v UAE) = 6 points

Oman have won all their games (v Samoa v Qatar v UAE) = 6 points

UAE have beaten Qatar & Samoa = 4 points

Japan have beaten Samoa = 2 points 

Qatar have beaten Japan = 2 points 

There are 5 games left

Oman v Nepal  Wednesday evening

UAE v Japan  - Thursday afternoon

Qatar v Samoa Thursday evening

Japan v Oman Friday morning

Nepal v Samoa Friday Afternoon

On that basis the side wining tonight between Nepal and Oman is through to the World Cup.

The team that loses tonight will also be through because they cannot be overtaken.

Only the third place is up for grabs and it is Japan's IF they win both their last two games.  BUT if they lose to UAE tomorrow then the Emiratis have 6 points and will claim the third place.

IF Japan beat UAE then it is possible for all 4 sides below Nepal  and  Oman to reach 4 points in certain circumstances  but only Japan could get to 6 points.  

Therefore the game tomorrow afternoon can decide whether this contest goes into the last day or not.

Game 8 Super 6's - Oman v Nepal @ Turf 1 Al Amerat Oman Wednesday 15 October 2025

Nepal have won the toss and have opted to bat first.  They have probably decided that they can set a target and then presurrise the Omani's into imploding while trying to chase it.  They have not looked good at pacing a reply so that is probably the best option.  However, the Omani bowling line-up has looked very strong at holding sides in check so it may be that Nepal will struggle to put a defendable total on the board so Oman may have a better chance of chasing it down.  We shall see - this is the 'There can be ONLY ONE' game

The Omani side for this game is;

Jatinder Singh(c), Aamir Kaleem, Mohammad Nadeem, Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla(w), Jiten Ramanandi, Nadeem Khan, Aryan Bisht, Sufyan Mehmood, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed

Bhurtle and Sheikh with the bat open for Nepal.   Faisal and probably Shakeel with the ball for Oman.  Faisal is definitely bowling the first from the Pavilion end.  They give away 4 with the first 6 balls.  It's 10 after 12 and the noise at any ball going anywhere near the rope is quite something.  None have gone over without bouncing yet.

With the first ball of the third Faisal has Sheikh wafting at a ball that is not where he thought it was and nearly sends his off stump flying.  He puts the next one into the Turf 2 buildings and the place goes wild for the first six of the game.  Bhurtle also gets hold of one from Faisal and he also sends this into the Pavilion.  21 for 0 after 3.  

Bhurtle seems to be getting his rangefinder working as he sends Shakeel back over his head and the rope and in two balls he change the RR from 7+ to 9+ and Nepal are at 37 at the end of the 4th.

The 5th is given to Sufyan Mehmood to look to stem the batting mayhem which sees Bhurtle with 23 from 14.  But if you hold Bhurtle then you have to cope with Sheikh who simply takes over and moves his side into the 40s.  Nadeem Khan takes the last 'Powerplay' over at 44 for 0.  The first ball goes for four. and the Nepalese go to 52 with a second straight four from Bhurtle.  53 for 0 after 6 and 58 after Sufyan's 7th

Nadeem Khan has looked much more of a problem for the Nepalese bats from the 'Mountain' end and he finally gets his reward by bowling Sheikh at the start of the 8th at 61 for 1.  In comes the skipper Paudel and the Omani bowler send him back where he came from with a single bowled after 2 balls it's 63 for 2 at the end of the 8th. 

Dipendra Singh Airee is the next man to the crease so the pressure can't let up if Oman are to hold this side in check.  66 for 2 at the end of the 9th and it's not as hectic as it was.  The 10th starts with Airee being sent back to the dressing room by Nadeem LBW and Malla taking his place.

73 for 3 at the halfway point and Oman will bowl out Shakeel Ahmed with the 11th.  He does so with a very commendable 33 from his 4 under these conditions.  Nadeem also bowls out with the next over and gets his fourth wicket with the 3rd ball of the twelfth as Malla is caught on the boundary by Mirza and Alam takes his place at 84 for 4.  Khan finishes with a brilliant 20 for 4.  He's has been the difference in this game so far.

Ramanandi starts his evening with the 13th and goes for 4.  Bhurtle moves to 49 from 37 and finishes the half century with a single from the first ball of the next over from Kaleem (his first of the evening) at 88 for 4.  The Omani fielding is at another level tonight.  They seem to know what they are up against in this game and have come to play.

At the end of the 14th the Nepalese are 5 from the 100 which some may have expected them to be past a couple of overs ago at least.  But they have been held to an extent and it should be noted that half their score is from one bat.   The 3 figures arrives at the end of the over and it is 101 for 5 with 30 balls to go.  The first 6 will come from the returning Faisal.   Bhurtle hits him for consecutive fours from his first 2 deliveries.  He delivers a third towards the end of the over.  Faisal tries to bounce him and he gives away another four to a hard flash that goes to the straight boundary.  The score has moved on to 120 with 4 overs to go

Sufyan returns for the 17th and he ties the bat down so Alam tries a swipe like his partner but he just top edges to Jatinder Singh to leave for 16 from 15 at 121 for 5.  In comes Gulsan Jha and he also finds out that Mr Mehmood is a different man with the ball and damn difficult to get away.  Ramanandi changes ends at 123 for 5 after Sufyan went for 3 - excellent over.

Jiten also has a habit of turning things around. in these late overs and he finally gets rid of Bhurtle for a great 69 from 51 LBW at 127 for 6.  Bam replaces him as we move into the 19th bowled by Mehmood who presently has figures of 1 for 17.  Jha sixes him into the Pavilion with the fourth ball and then does it again with the fifth.  Sufyan comes back and bowls him with the sixth - great contest and equal rewards at the end.  Mehmood finishes with 2 for 29.  Jha leaves and in comes Kami for the 20th.

Jiten bowls the last one looking to keep them under 150 at 141 for 8.  He starts by bowling Bam with his first ball and bringing in Yadav.  Yadav sixes him into the fanzone and takes Nepal to 149.  They take a 2 to go to 151. A great ball give the bats no chance and when they try to run Ramanandi breaks the stumps at the non strikers end running Yadav out for 9.  Kami has 1 and Oman need 152 to take the 2 points.  

Captain Jatinder Singh  and partner Hammad Mirza come out to open the Omani batting against the bowling of Kami from the Pavilion end.   Again the Omani bats are cautious if there is any possibility of not making their ground.  They finish the first with 1 to their collective name.  Yadav takes the second and Singh takes the first six off him.  They move to 8 from the second but it doesn't look too confident from both ends at the moment.

At the start of the next over from Kami the Omani skipper straight sixes him as well.  He tries to drive another but gets a leading edge and the fielder has the time to run back and take the catch. Oman are 1 for 14 with the captain out and Aryan Bisht is sent in earlier than usual.

After 5 overs the progress is slow as Kaleem gets off the mark but at 27 for 2 it's a long way from the winning score.  Airee comes on for the last 'Powerplay' over and he takes a wicket with his first ball removing Kaleem at 27 for 3.  Oman need someone to hold the line here or it may very well unravel very quickly.   Mohammed Nadeem comes to the crease to see if he can do that job.  Oman still need 124 from less than 90 balls.

Nepal throw the ball to Lamichhane from the Pavilion for the 7th.  He restricts Oman to 33 for 3 by the end of it.   Kushal Malla the left arm orthodox spinner does effectively the same in the 8th with only 4 being added as Oman struggle to get the ball off the strip and can build no real attacking momentum as the Nepalese infield is dynamic and aggressive.  In the 9th the pressure causes the expected frustration and Bisht is caught by the sub fielder Arif Sheikh off the bowling of Lamichhane for 11 from 14.  Nepal are squeezing the life out of an Omani batting line-up that have no plan B for not scoring boundaries or easy singles. 

As has been the case in many games, the 10th over is a game changer and it is so here.  Bowled by Gulsan Jha, there is a wicket at the start of it when the new man at the crease Nadeem Khan is bowled by the young Nepalese for a single run.  The last real hope of the Omani line-up, keeper Vinayak Shukla arrives at the crease with an almost impossible job to do to get his country into a winning position.   They are 43 for 5 still over 100 runs adrift with only 60 balls to face.

Lamichhane gives away four in the 11th.  the home side is still not at 50 runs.  That is achieved with a six at the start of the next Jha over, a successful one that takes Oman to 60, needing less than 3 figures for the win, but still not enough to decrease the RRR. 

Bhurtle takes the 13th and even he only goes for four as the Omanis seem deflated with the difficulty of the fielding and bowling they are facing and the 14th is just the death blow to the innings.

Again Gulsan Jha bowls it, Shukla takes him for four early and the over moves along well.  Then Mohammed Nadeem is caught by the captain Paudel for 25 from 31 which brings Jiten Ramanadi to the crease.   But he is immedaitely bowled next ball bringing in Sufyan Mehmood to face the hat-trick ball at 70 for 6.  He deflects it away easily enough but the middle has been ripped out of an already struggling Omani middle order for very little.

Again, Shukla shows aggression by hitting Lamichhane for six from his final over, the 15th, but the whole over only goes for 9 and that is not enough.  The Nepalese bowler finishes with an excellent 19 for 1 and with 30 balls remaining, the new Omani pair need to find 80 runs somewhere.

The 16th between Jha and Mehmood is a lot of swinging and missing (not by very much in terms of the bat or the stumps) and one glorious straight drive for four before Sufyan  takes a single and his keeper hits another six!! It's 90 for 7 with 24 balls to go.  The next from Yadav adds only 4 so Oman are still well over 50 runs away and the game has pretty much run its course by now.  We are again in a situation where the role of the batting line-up is to be there at the end of the 20th over for the pride that provides, the points are really already Nepal's.

Sompal Kami returns for the 18th and is greeted with another Shukla six but it is the keeper's last as he is caught by Jha going for another in the middle of the order to leave the field with 32 from 19 with a four and 3 mighty sixes.  Shakeel Ahmed takes his place and pushes the score along as we reach the last rites at 106 for 8.

Yadav has not done yet though as he starts his final over and has Mehmood caught by Bhurtle on ball 1 for 9 from 14.  The last man Shah Faisal comes out with one objective, survive the last 11 balls and do not lose before the end of the game.  There is 1 run from the rest of the 19 and we look to Dipendra Singh Airee to finish this game off after Yadav completes an excellent spell of 2 for 19. It's then just a series of scrampled singles and twos to the end of the game which limply comes at 113 for 9 with Nepal winning by 33 runs.

It was over by the 10 over.  Oman had no real solution to the Nepalese game plan and were strangled out of this game by their inability to break through the infield often enough and have a secondary strategy when the opposition dried up the boundaries.

Nepal were the worthy winners, they go to 8 points and though they can be caught if they lose to Samoa and Oman beat Japan they have been the standout all around team in this series and deserve to have qualified for the World Cup.  Oman have also qualified but not with the same level of complete dominance and they have a fundamental problem when the rub of the ball is not going with them as they seem incapable of adapting tp their opponents gameplan - which seems pretty simple.  They have a strong bowling attack but their batting is only strong if it is allowed to be so it's strength is in the weakness of the other side to hold it in check.  If they do that then Oman becomes toothless quite quickly.

So 2 places in the World Cup have been decided.  The battle now over the next 2 days is to decide who is the third team to join Nepal and Oman in India in 2026.

Man of the Match - Kushel Bhurtle