On Wednesday (12th February), Nepal registered their record ODI victory after bundling the United States of America (USA) for the joint-lowest total in ODI history.
It was the last game in Nepal ODI triangular series (Nepal, Oman and USA), which was the part of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2. After winning the toss in the last game of this series, the hosts Nepal decided to field first.
Nepal took just 12 overs to strangulate their opponent USA, who managed to score only 35 runs – the joint-lowest total in ODI history. Apart from the opening batsman Xavier Marshall (16), all other batsmen failed to reach the double-digit scores in that innings.
Among the Nepal bowlers, Sandeep Lamichhane had the bowling figures of 6-1-16-6, and Sushan Bhari had the bowling figures of 3-1-5-4.
In reply, Nepal successfully chased down that target in just 5.2 overs after losing both the openers. Though the openers failed in that tiny chase, Paras Khadka (20*) and Dipendra Singh Airee (15*) secured that easy victory without any further damage. It was their fastest run chase in ODI history.
Among the USA bowlers, only Nosthush Kenjige managed to pick up two wickets in his first over (second over of that innings).
Oman finished as the winner of this tri-series as they won all the four matches of this series and collected eight points. While Nepal won both the games against the USA in this series (four points), the USA failed to open the point account in this series.
Some crucial stats of the match: Nepal vs USA
i) The USA were bundled out for just 35 runs. It is the joint lowest ODI total in history, as Zimbabwe was the team which managed just 35 in 18 overs against Sri Lanka on 25th of April 2004 at Harare Sports Club.
Lowest ODI totals
| Team | Total (Overs) | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| Zimbabwe | 35 (18) | Sri Lanka | Harare | 25th April 2004 |
| USA | 35 (12) | Nepal | Kirtipur | 12th February 2020 |
| Canada | 36 (18.4) | Sri Lanka | Paarl | 19th February 2003 |
| Zimbabwe | 38 (15.4) | Sri Lanka | Colombo (SSC) | 8th December 2001 |
| Pakistan | 43 (19.5) | West Indies | Cape Town | 25th February 1993 |
| Sri Lanka | 43 (20.1) | South Africa | Paarl | 11th January 2012 |
ii) The USA only managed to play 12 overs in their innings. It is the fastest all-out in ODI history. The previous record was 13.5 overs by Zimbabwe (54 runs) against Afghanistan at Harare on 26th February 2017.
iii) Sandeep Lamichhane had the bowling figures of 6-1-16-6. It was the first time when a Nepal bowler claimed a six-wicket haul in ODI cricket. Also, it was the seventh-best bowling figures in ODI history by a spinner.
iv) Nepal won the match by eight wickets with 268 balls remaining. It was the fourth-fastest successful chasing in ODI history.