Nepal batter Ishan Pandey scored a maiden fifty on his international run after seven years.
Pandey, born in Nepal and with an MBBS degree, received his formative coaching in Haridwar, India. He made his international debut for Nepal in 2019 in T20Is, playing four matches across two weeks, before returning to the international fold through ODIs. He made his bow in the format in the ongoing tri-series involving the USA and Scotland as part of the men’s Cricket ODI World Cup League 2.
In his maiden 50-over international appearance against the USA on Saturday, May 16, Pandey, batting at No.3 and remained unbeaten on 20 as Nepal chased down 196 with nine wickets to spare. He then scored his first-ever international fifty in the following game against Scotland on Monday.
Scotland batted first in the game at Kirtipur, and were going strong at 71-1, with George Munsey and Brandon McMullen having added 53 runs for the second wicket. But Sandeep Lamichhane, who became the fastest to 150 ODI wickets, got the better of them both on either side of Lalit Rajbanshi’s dismissal of captain Richie Berrington.
Mark Watt and Michael English put up some fight to add 45 runs for the sixth wicket, but Sompal Kami broke the partnership by having Watt caught behind to reduce Scotland to 175-6. Rajbanshi took three wickets in seven balls shortly after to eventually bowl Scotland out for 194 and finish with figures of 4-32. Lamichhane returned 3-47.
Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel provided a strong start in the chase, adding 58 runs for the opening wicket in 6.4 overs, but both fell within five deliveries and a run of each other. That was when Pandey and captain Rohit Paudel resurrected the innings, together scoring 104 runs for the third wicket while hitting respective fifties.
Match 107, Nepal vs Scotland
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- Ball by ball Over
Pandey was dismissed caught and bowled by Watt for 55 off 61, but Paudel remained unbeaten as Nepal won by six wickets. The win saw them move to fifth in the League 2 standings.
Also read: Cricket's Growth Markets: Why Nepal is the most underpriced asset in the game
Image courtesy: Cricket Association of Nepal
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