Preview | Nepal vs Netherlands

By Shashank Timsina | Posted Posted Feb 24, 2024

Nepal and the Netherlands are facing off against each other on Sunday at TU International Cricket Ground, which will be the last match of the first trilateral series of the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 cycle.

Both teams have registered a win each in the series so far, with Nepal beating the Dutch in their first meeting. The Netherlands surpassed Namibia once in the two match-ups.

The toss has been a crucial factor in the series so far, with the chasing side clinching victory on four out of five occasions. Hence, both sides are expected to choose bowling and exploit the morning condition.

Nepal might rope in Aarif Sheikh in the starting eleven to stabilize their shaky-looking middle order. Aarif has scored 360 runs over the last twelve months in the One-Dayers. His tally is filled with two half-centuries, one of those coming against the strong Caribbean side in the ICC World Cup Qualifier last year.

The Netherlands are expected to come out stronger against Nepal after facing defeat in the first meeting. The Dutch side are recently on a golden run, including famous wins against South Africa and Bangladesh in the ICC World Cup 2023 in the latter half of 2023.

Head-to-head in ODIs:

Host Nepal and the Netherlands have met each other on four instances with two wins each. Nepal’s first ODI win came against the Netherlands in 2018 after obtaining the status of the format.

Milestones:

The Netherlands’ captain, Scott Andrew Edwards, is just 29 runs away from passing Ryan Neil ten Doeschate to become the all-time leading run scorer in the One Day International for his country. Apart from this, he will tie up with Peter William Borren on Sunday for the most matches as the captain. Borren had led the Dutch side for the 31 one-dayers.

Aarif Sheikh needs 58 more runs to become the fourth player from Nepal to break the 1000-run barrier in the format. Anil Kumar Sah will surpass Pathum Nissanka for the most number of sixes in the ODI this year if he smashes two or more maximums tomorrow.

Surprisingly, Rohit Kumar Paudel is only three wickets away from becoming the leading wicket-taker in One Day International this year.

TU International Cricket Ground will certainly witness the electrifying encounter on Sunday, with both sides looking to conclude the series on a high note.