#1 42(31)* vs Canada | Feb 14, 2018
The most thrilling 50-over match. Period.
There isn’t much left to hear about this match. Nepal not only defeated Canada but also registered a World Cup Qualifier berth.
Nepal won the toss and elected to field first. Canadian opener Srimantha Wijeyratne carried his bat for 50 overs, scoring 103* off 152 balls to take Canada’s total to 194/8.
195 runs for a batting line-up as fragile as Nepal’s, that too in a virtual knock-out game, was a stiff target. Plus, Nepal’s three most trusted batsmen, Paras Khadka, Gyanendra Malla and Sharad Vesawkar; all of them getting out cheaply added insults to injury.
Wickets kept falling and the Nepalese side was struggling at 144/9 in 42.1 overs with 51 runs required to win. With only 47 balls and more importantly only one wicket left, a win for Nepal seemed nothing but fictional.
However tough the situation was, Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane kept going with Karan hitting a few boundaries here and there. The partnership was so good that the equation after 48 overs was: 21 runs required off 12 balls and the match could go into anyone’s favor with Canada still slightly ahead.
In the 49th over, Karan KC struck a four and a six collecting 13 runs off it while also keeping the strike with himself for the ultimate over. Nepal needed 8 runs from 6 balls and the Canadian players still couldn’t believe how quickly the complexion of the game changed.
The Last Over:
49.1 Dot Ball! A yorker-length delivery by Cecil Pervez and Karan KC could do nothing about it.
Now, 8 required off 5 balls.
49.2 Dot Ball! Outside-off delivery and Karan failed to make any contact whatsoever.
Now, 8 required off 4 balls.
49.3 Dot Ball! Again! Karan could only hit it back to the bowler who collected it on the bounce. The fairy tale looked uncertain for Nepal.
Now, 8 required off 3 balls.
49.4 Dot Ball! Once Again! Yorker again and beaten again. Canadian players could finally smile in those last 30-minutes period.
Now, 8 required off 2 balls.
49.5 SIX!!! The Canadian smiles couldn’t last long as Karan lofted it over the deep-cover region for a maximum.
Now, 2 required off 1 ball.
49.6 Wide! Pervez bowled it down the leg. Scores levelled!
Now, 1 required off 1 ball.
49.6 Single! Karan KC tapped it towards midwicket for a single and booked a spot for Nepal in the World Cup Qualifier.
Canadian players couldn’t believe it and neither could Nepalese players. The Nepalese team and fans were full of joy whereas agony was the only emotion the Canadian team could feel, courtesy an inhuman act by ‘THE MIRACLE MAN’.
