Nepal defeat Oman in Super Six match after both teams qualify for Men’s T20 World Cup

Sports Wednesday 15/October/2025 22:48 PM
By: Times News Service
Nepal defeat Oman in Super Six match after both teams qualify for Men’s T20 World Cup
MUSCAT: Hosts Oman and Nepal booked their tickets for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Wednesday after securing top-three finishes in the ICC Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, following UAE’s win over Samoa and Qatar’s victory over Japan at the Oman Cricket Academy (OCA) ground in Al Amerat earlier in the day.
For Duleep Mendis’ men, this marks their second successive T20 World Cup appearance and fourth overall since making their debut in 2016. Having already sealed their World Cup berths, both teams went into their Super Six clash on Wednesday evening aiming to maintain their unbeaten streak.
It was Nepal that emerged victorious on Wednesday to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament, winning by 38 runs.
Chasing 152 to win, Oman skipper Jatinder Singh delighted the crowd with two sixes, but his exit in the third over triggered a collapse as the hosts slumped to 27/3 inside the powerplay. Aryan Bisht departed for 11 to leave Oman reeling at 38/4, and soon it became 41/5 with the dismissal of Nadeem Khan.
Veteran Mohammad Nadeem halted the slide with a composed 25 before becoming the first of Gulshan Jha’s three victims, as the seamer finished with 3/31.
A late blitz by Vinayak Shukla, who smashed 32 off 19 balls, including three sixes and a boundary, only delayed the inevitable as the asking rate climbed beyond 15 runs per over with four overs left.
Oman eventually ended their innings at 113/9, tasting their first defeat of the tournament on a day when the team — and the cricketing fraternity in the Sultanate — were already in celebration mode after confirming World Cup qualification. The loss to Nepal did little to take away the gloss.
Oman will conclude their Super Six campaign with a game against Japan on Friday, the final day of the qualifiers, when the top three teams will be officially confirmed.
Earlier, a packed crowd at the OCA ground witnessed Oman’s young all-rounder Nadeem Khan steal the limelight. The left-arm wrist-spinner produced a career-best 4/20, stemming Nepal’s strong start and restricting them to 151/9.
Nepal had looked comfortable in the powerplay, racing to 53/0, but Nadeem’s strikes shifted the momentum. The dismissals of Aasif Sheikh and Rohit Paudel in the 8th over, followed by Dipendra Singh Airee, put Nepal under pressure, reducing them to 67/3. Nadeem then claimed his fourth victim, Kushal Malla, leaving Nepal at 81/4 in 12 overs.
Despite the early setbacks, opener Kushal Bhurtel anchored the innings, smashing 69 off 51 balls, featuring seven boundaries and a six. Breezy knocks from Gulshan Jha (18), Aadil Ansari (16), and Nandan Yadav (9) helped Nepal cross the 150-run mark, finishing at 151/9 in 20 overs.
Brief scores: Nepal 151/9 (Bhurtel 69, Sheikh 24, Jha 18; Nadeem 4/20, Sufyan Mehmood 2/29, Jiten Ramanandi 2/26) beat Oman 113/9 (Mohammad Nadeem 25, Vinayak Shukla 32; Jha 3/31, Sompal Kami 2/25, Nandan Yadav 2/19).