Nepal vs United States of America, ICCCWCLT, Today Match Prediction

NEP vs USA Match Prediction & Analysis

It will be the final game of the tri-series between the USA, Nepal, and Scotland. The hosts, Nepal, will face the USA in an intense game at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur, on 22nd May from 9:15 am IST. 

Nepal will look forward to making it three wins in a row. After losing in the first game against Scotland, they have beaten the USA and Scotland in the next two games. Both victories have come while chasing the target and with more than 12 overs in hand. They are currently fifth in the points table with 22 points in 27 games. Especially in the last 5 games, they have jumped four places from the bottom.

The USA finally managed to win a game in this tri-series after losing the first two. They beat Scotland by 6 wickets to jump to first place in the points table. They have won 7 of the last 9 ODIs. All eyes will be on Saiteja Mukkamalla, who has 533 runs in the last 10 games at an average of 60.

This will be the sixth game between the two in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. The USA won the first four games. Finally, Nepal bounced back with a win in the last game. Kushal Bhurtel’s unbetaen 120 helped them chase a target of 196 runs with 9 wickets and 80 balls in hand. This was Nepal’s fourth victory in the last 5 games.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Nepal Preview

With back-to-back wins, Nepal will go into the game with high confidence. In the last game, Lalit Rajbanshi and Sandeep Lamichhane picked up 7 wickets to restrict Scotland to 194. Ishan Pandey (55) and Rohit Paudel (74*) added 104 runs for the third wicket to help Nepal win the game by 6 wickets.

Kushal Bhurtel will open the innings with Aasif Sheikh. Bhurtel loves to play against the USA and has scored 120* in the last game against them. He has 520 runs in 21 games. Sheikh scored 29 off 17 in the last game. In 20 innings, he has 637 runs with 5 half-centuries. He can be the batter to watch out for. Ishan Pandey will come in at number three. He scored 55 runs in the last game.

Skipper Rohit Paudel will come in the middle with Dipendra Singh Airee and Aarif Sheikh. Paudel remained unbeaten on 74 in the last game. He has 597 runs for Nepal in 21 games of ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. Dipendra Singh Airee is their leading run-scorer with 677 runs. He has hit a century and 5 half-centuries. Airee has also taken 15 wickets with the ball. Aarif Sheikh has 557 runs in 20 games with 3 half-centuries.

Sandeep Lamichhane will lead the bowling attack with Sompal Kami, Karan KC, and  Lalit Rajbanshi. Lamichhane picked up 3 wickets in the last game. He is the fourth leading wicket-taker of the league with 39 wickets. He will be the bowler to watch out for. Rajbanshi picked up 4 wickets in the last game to take his tally to 21 wickets in 21 games. Sompal Kami has 29 wickets while Karan KC has 24 wickets in 21 games.

Key Players: Sandeep Lamichhane, Aasif Sheikh, Rohit Paudel.

Nepal Predicted Playing XI:

Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Ishan Pandey, Rohit Paudel (c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi.

United States of America Preview

A win over Scotland in the last game has bought USA back to the number one position in the points table. Bowling first, they bowled out Scotland for 169 runs. Rushil Ugarkar picked up 4 wickets while Saurabh Netravalkar took 3 wickets. Smit Patel and Shayan Jahangir scored 37 runs each to help USA win the game by 6 wickets.

Smit Patel will open the innings with Shayan Jahangir. Patel has scored 83, 72, and 37 runs in the first three games. He will be the batter to watch out for. Jahangir has 47 runs in three games. Shehan Jayasuriya should replace him. Jayasuriya scored 50 in the first game at number three before getting sent out in fifth place to bat. 

Saiteja Mukkamalla will play a crucial role in the middle. Mukkamalla scored 104 runs in the last game against Nepal. He has 1017 runs in 22 innings. Milind Kumar hasn’t shown his full potential in this series. He has 54 runs in three games. But he is the second leading run-scorer of the league with 1072 runs in the last 24 games, can’t be neglected. Mukkamalla and Kumar have collectively scored 2089 runs in the last 24 games.  

Saurabh Netravalkar will least he bowling attack with Milind Kumar, Jasdeep Singh, and Harmeet Singh. Netravalkar has 21 wickets in the last 11 games, while Harmeet has 32 wickets in 24 games. The USA bowlers have taken 17 wickets in the first three games while giving 689 runs in 127 overs. 

Key Players: Smit Patel, Saurabh Netravalkar, Milind Kumar.

United States of America Predicted Playing XI:

Smit Patel (wk), Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamalla (c), Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Harmeet Singh, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Shubham Ranjane, Mohammad Mohsin, Nosthush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar

Weather Conditions

The weather in Kirtipur is expected to be rainy on match day, with temperatures ranging from 16 to 22 degrees Celsius. Winds will blow from the southeast at 6-10 km/h. The rain is expected to play a spoilsport. It is a bowling-friendly pitch. 159 wickets have fallen in the 11 games played at this venue.

NEP vs USA Pitch Report

The match will be played at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. The game is scheduled on 22nd May from 9:15 am IST. The average first innings score is 223, 26 more than the second innings. Just once in history has a team managed to score 300 runs at this venue. 

Toss: To Bowl

Kirtipur has favored teams defending the target on 9 occasions in the last 11 games. The team winning the toss should bat first. Nepal has 2 wins in the last 3 games played here, all while chasing the target. The Nepal captain has one task - to not to let them bowl first.