O’Dowd guides netherlands win over Nepal in low-scoring thriller

DALLAS:  Max O’Dowd anchored the Netherlands chase with an unbeaten 54, carrying his bat as the Dutch claimed a six-wicket victory over Nepal with seven balls to spare in their T20 World Cup opener on Tuesday.

Earlier, the Netherlands bowling attack put in an impressive display to restrict Nepal to 106 all out in the first innings.

Runs were hard to come by for the Nepal top order on the nation’s return to World Cup action for the first time since 2014, with captain Rohit Paudel (35 from 37) the only batter to look comfortable against an attack that picked up wickets at helpful regularity.

Netherlands bowlers were in good form with the ball in Dallas and bowled Nepal out for 106. Nepal had hope when Sompal Kami had Michael Levitt caught in just the second over.

But O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh (22) settled any Dutch nerves with a steady 40-run partnership before Sybrand Engelbrecht added a helpful 14 from 16 to bring the target within reach.

Kami (1/18 from 4), Abinash Bohara (1/29 from 3.4), and Dipendra Singh Airee (1/6 from 2) were the wicket-takers for Nepal, but while O’Dowd was in the middle it was always the men in orange who were in control.

And the experienced opener finished unbeaten on 54* from 48 balls, with Bas de Leede hitting the winning runs to end on 11*(10).

Earlier, a rain shower ensured that the toss was officially delayed by half an hour, prompting fears of a reduced-overs contest in front of a big crowd in Dallas.