First ever win in ODIs for Nepal as they defeat Netherlands by 1 run

It is a dream-come-true for a team to win their first ever ODI match, and that is exactly what Nepal has achieved, by defeating the Netherlands in the second ODI of the series. And what is more astonishing, is the margin of win - a solitary run! And that too, in the last ball of the game.

It was the second ODI for both teams in a space of three days as the Dutch hosted the Asian minnows at Amstelveen, the same venue where the hosts managed a comeback win against the same opponents just day-bore-yesterday.

Nepal had started off the series well, bowling brilliantly to reduce the Netherlands to a measly score, but then crumbled down after a good start while batting. Nevertheless, they did seem well for the first-ever experience in ODIs and even before the game began today, it was sure that they would look to extend their performance to beyond what they did back then.

Which was not what they did exactly, as the top-6 batsmen were in the stands at 135, Paras Khadka (51, 69b, 6x4, 2x6) being the sole performer. But then came Sompal Kami, predominantly a bowler but known to be useful with the willow.

Kami made a quickfire 61 (46b, 5x4, 3x6) as he found companions in the lower order, taking his team beyond 200, even with the occasional fall of wickets.

The team eventually folded for 215, as Fred Klaasen (10 - 1 -38 - 3) emerged the pick of Dutch bowlers, thoroughly helped by the spin-twins Rippon and captain Seelaar, just like in the first ODI, when the trio shared nine wickets equally between them.

Batting next, Netherlands lost Stephen Myburgh in the very second ball of the innings. At 30, they lost Ben Cooper as well. Wesley Barresi (71) who then came out, stitched a valuable 84-run partnership with Daniel ter Braak (39), but just as they were looking to steal the game away, IPL-find Sandeep Lamichhane issued a double blow, removing ter Braak and Bas de Leede (0) in a space of three balls.

Since then, wickets fell at regular intervals and the Dutch sound found themselves at 185 for 9.

Netherlands' second best partnership came in the tenth wicket as Fred Klaasen and Paul Meekeren met at the pitch. Usually partners in bowling, they now found themselves in reversed roles, as they chased 32 runs in 39 balls.

Not a single boundary was scored by the duo as they edged closer to the target. Nepal captain Paras Khadka bowled the last over, where they the equation down to two off two balls. The penultimate ball remained a dot, and Klaasen was required to run two off the final ball.

However, he failed to connect, jabbing the ball back to Khadka who promptly uprooted the stumps to dismiss Klaasen who ran, nevertheless.

Khadka thus handed Nepal a highly deserving one-run win, that tied the series as well, with no more games remaining.

They had a few match-winners from today, such as Lamichhane (10 - 0 - 41 - 3) or Khadka himself for his batting and last-over brilliance, but Sompal Kami was elected man-of-the-match for a rapid inning that mattered most in the overall scheme of things.