It was supposed to be Nepal’s big day back at the T20 World Cup.
Thousands of Nepalese fans had filled the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas long before their opening game of tournament against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Even the threat of rain did not dampen the spirit of Nepal fans who had waited a long time to see their players on the world stage.
But the partisan support did not count for much in the end as the Netherlands showed why they are considered a dangerous side in T20 cricket, ultimately easing to a six-wicket win.
Nepal batted first after rain forced the start of the match to be delayed. The pitch at the Grand Prairie Stadium had more than enough help for seamers and spinners and that proved to be Nepal’s undoing.
Seamer Vivian Kingma got the bowl to swing a mile after pitching, forcing openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh to manufacture shots at the other end.
Left-arm spinner Tim Pringle (3-20) was the beneficiary as he snared Sheikh and Anil Sah cheaply.
There was a slight revival after Rohit Paudel hit a brisk 35 off 37 balls, but the Nepal captain soon found himself running out of partners.
Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee and Sompal Kami all fell in quick succession to leave Nepal struggling on 66-6 after 13.2 overs, and when Paudel was dismissed by Pringle, the final three wickets fell quickly as Nepal were bundled out for 106 in the final over.
Logan van Beek took 3-18 runs while Pringle finished with 3-20 off four overs. Paul van Meekeren bagged 2-19 runs while Bas de Leede finished on 2-22.
A target of 107 was never going to be challenging but Nepal tried their best to make a match out of it.
Seamer Kami got the early breakthrough but Max O’Dowd (54 not out) and Vikramjit Singh (22) steadied the ship. Sloppy fielding from Nepal allowed the Dutch to keep the scoreboard ticking, but the challenging surface did not allow the Netherlands to get too far ahead.
A lucky run out of Sybrand Engelbrecht at the non-striker’s end made things interesting as the Dutch needed 34 from 36 balls at one stage.
Then, seamer Abinash Bohhara castled keeper Scott Edwards to reduce the chasing side to 80-4.
The defining moment of the match came in the 18th over when Nepal captain Paudel dropped a regulation chance of top scorer O’Dowd off the bowling of Kami in the deep. They needed 18 from 17 balls and from there the Netherlands wasted no time in finishing off the chase.
O’Dowd finished unbeaten on 54 from 48 balls with four boundaries and a six, holding the innings together.
The pulsating contest in Dallas was in stark contrast to the no show in Barbados where England’s clash against Scotland was abandoned due to rain.
Scotland openers George Munsey (41 not out) and Michael Jones (45 not out) batted superbly to take the team to 90-0 in a rain-interrupted innings of 10 overs at the Kensington Oval.
Because Scotland's innings was halted, for nearly two hours, on 51-0 off 6.2 overs, it meant England were left with a revised target of 109 in 10 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
But before England could begin their reply, on a ground where they won the 2010 T20 World Cup final, a fresh downpour led the umpires to abandon the match, with both teams receiving a point each.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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How they line up for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4 Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5 Kevin Magnussen, Haas
6 Romain Grosjean, Haas
7 Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
*8 Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9 Carlos Sainz, Renault
10 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
11 Fernando Alonso, McLaren
12 Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
13 Sergio Perez, Force India
14 Lance Stroll, Williams
15 Esteban Ocon, Force India
16 Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
17 Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
18 Charles Leclerc, Sauber
19 Sergey Sirotkin, Williams
20 Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
* Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth but had a three-place grid penalty for speeding in red flag conditions during practice
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Results
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m; Winner: Ghaiyyath, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Cliffs Of Capri, Tadhg O’Shea, Jamie Osborne.
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Zakouski, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press
Fixtures
Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11
August 9
Liverpool v Norwich 11pm
August 10
West Ham v Man City 3.30pm
Bournemouth v Sheffield Utd 6pm
Burnley v Southampton 6pm
C Palace v Everton 6pm
Leicester v Wolves 6pm
Watford v Brighton 6pm
Tottenham v Aston Villa 8.30pm
August 11
Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm
Man United v Chelsea 7.30pm
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
THE SPECS
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Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
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