Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Kushal Malla hit an aggressive century as Nepal defeated Oman by 84 runs to register its second victory in as many games in the ACC Men’s Premier Cup.
Invited to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 310 runs – its highest ODI score, losing eight wickets in the allotted 50 overs at the TU International Cricket Ground on Friday. Oman was all out for 226 runs in 46.3 overs.
Nepal made a disastrous start in its landmark 50th ODI, losing both openers for a duck. Omani bowlers bowled 27 runs without conceding any runs to pile pressure on the home team. However, Bhim Sharki and Captain Rohit Poudel batted sensibly to set a foundation for Kushal Malla. Sharki scored 33 runs from 56 balls, while Poudel chipped in 23 runs from 34 balls. Aarif Sheikh supported Kushal Malla from one end as the 19-year-old clubbed sixes after sixes much to the joy of the home crowd. Malla scored 108 runs from 64 balls, which included nine fours and ten sixes, becoming the youngest ODI centurion for Nepal. Sompal Kami added a late flourish to the Nepali inning, scoring 63 from 48 balls. Karan KC scored 29 from 15 balls to take Nepal’s score beyond 300 runs.
Aaayan Khan took two wickets for Oman, while Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah, Zeeshan Maqsood, Fayyaz Butt, Aqib Ilyas, and Jatinder Singh all took a wicket each.
Although Oman added 32 runs for the first wicket, it lost wickets at regular intervals. Mohammad Nadeem and Ayaan Khan played sensibly to build the Omani innings. Nadeem scored 65 runs from 84 balls, while Ayyan scored 29 runs from 28 balls. Sandeep Goud scored 46 off 56 balls.
Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane took three wickets each for Nepal, while Dipendra Singh Airee chipped in with two wickets. Lalit Rajbanshi took one.
Lamichhane entered the record books, becoming the fastest to 100 ODI wickets when he took the wicket of Adeel Shafique. He took 100th wicket in 42 ODIs besting the record of Rashid Khan of Afghanistan who took 100 wickets in 44 ODIs.
