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In a last-ball thriller, Netherlands' left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe stopped Nepal's big-hitter Dipendra Singh Airee to lead his side to a narrow two-run win. Dipendra who broke Yuvraj Singh's record for fastest T20I fifty last year was set to take Nepal home with just five runs needed off the last four balls but two wickets fell off consecutive balls and the visitors registered a thrilling win.
Dutch post a fighting total
In the Tri-series encounter, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel won the toss and opted to field first. Karan KC got the early wicket in the form of Max ODowd. Michael Levitt and Sybrand Engelbrecht shared a 62-run partnership. Kushal Malla broke the partnership in the ninth over. Levitt scored 54 runs from 36 balls including six fours and three sixes.
Dutch skipper Scott Edwards contributed with a cameo hitting five boundaries in his 16-ball 33. Engelbrecht continued to anchor the innings. Teja Nidamanuru scored 31 runs from 24 balls before getting run out off the last ball of the innings, Engelbrecht missed his half-century by just a single. He remained not out for 49 off 38 balls including four fours and a six. Netherlands posted a fighting total of 184/4 on the board.
Skipper hits fifty
In the run chase, Nepal lost opener Kusal Bhurtel for a four-ball duck. Vivian Kingma got his wicket. Aasif Sheikh and skipper Paudel helped the hosts recover from the early blow. Merwe was brought into the attack and he got Sheikh stumped. The opener scored 34 runs from 23 balls including four fours and a six. In the 12th over, Engelbrecht dismissed Malla who scored 11 runs from seven balls. Later, in the over, Rohit got to his half-century from 35 balls. But Engelbrecht pushed Nepal on the back foot with the wicket of Paudel. His 36-ball 50 featured six fours and two sixes.
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Dipendra’s heroics in vain
Nepal struggled in the middle overs. While Dipendra played himself in, Sundeep Jora and Sompal Kami were dismissed cheaply. In the 18th over, Dipendra went berserk hitting Aryan Dutt for a six and two fours. In the penultimate over, Dipendra and Karan hit Timm van der Gugten for a six each. In the final over, Nepal needed 15 runs. Dipendra started with a boundary and followed it up with a six over long-off. On the next ball, Karan got run out trying to sneak a second run. Next ball, Dipendra was bowled. His 34-ball 63 included six fours and three sixes. In the end Pratis GC could not get Nepal over the line as they lost the match by two runs.
Nepal’s second loss in tri-series
This was the Netherlands' first win of the tri-series. Meanwhile, Nepal are yet to win a game in the tournament and are placed at the bottom of the table.
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