Unique: Netherlands beat Nepal after T20 tie and three (!) Super Overs
Published at 16 June, 2025In the second T20I in Glasgow, Nepal managed to manage a tie out from a losing position: 152-152. Incredibly enough, the first two Super Overs also were ties: 19-19 and 17-17! The third Super Over was ultimately won by the Dutch. A bizarre match and a unique event in international cricket history.
Van Meekeren, Dutt, Van der Merwe and Kingma missed the match for various reasons. Vikram, Saqib, Doram and debutant Fletcher joined the team.
Nepal put the Netherlands in to bat. Michael Levitt (20) and Max O’Dowd (19) both had a smooth start. Both were dismissed on the first ball they faced after bowling changes. Scott Edwards hit his beloved sweep well, but Rupesh Singh took a great catch on the square leg boundary.
Then the run rate dropped from ten per over to seven per over, mainly due to strong bowling by Lamichhane. Vikram Singh (30) hit a full toss from Dipendra Singh Airee over the fence. In the twelfth over, however, he was caught on the boundary.
Noah Croes (top edge) became the third victim of Lamichhane (91/5/12.4). It was to Nepal’s credit that no real acceleration could be achieved; the fielding positions were good and the ground fielding was energetic. For quite some time - 39 balls - the Dutch team did not find the boundary. More than roughly one run per ball was not feasible in this phase.
Teja Nidamanuru (35), fell in the final over, but it was Saqib Zulfiqar (25 not out off twelve balls) who managed to achieve a more than acceptable strike rate. Thanks to him, the Dutch still managed to break the 150 barrier. Lamichhane excelled with 3-18.
Nepal innings
After a neat opening over by Kyle Klein, the ball was thrown to debutant Ben Fletcher. The left-arm seamer took the wicket of Lokesh Bam (ct Edwards, 2/1) with his very first ball in T20I cricket.
Even after the quick fall of a second wicket, Nepal had no intention of digging in. 43/2/4 was the result and the spinners soon appeared on the scene. Zach Lion-Cachet forced a few half chances, but not yet with the desired result from a Dutch perspective.
Daniel Doram did have that success, with his second delivery; the dangerous Bhurtel (34 off 23 balls) was caught by O’Dowd. With a quicker one in his second over, he also outwitted Dipendra Singh Airee and at 63/4 the Dutch could hope. Paudel should also have been run out a ball later.
Halfway through the innings it was 71/4 and anybody’s game, and a little later 69 from 48 balls was required. The absence of four bowlers was well compensated for by their replacements in this phase. Boundaries were scarce – partly due to stops by Lion-Cachet and Croes – and remarkably Nepal also had a phase with 39 balls without a boundary. Thagunna tried something on Doram, but was cleaned up (87/5).
While the usually noisy Nepalese fans temporarily fell silent, the Dutch bowlers seemed to be taking the match to themselves. The required run rate was now eleven per over. Rupesh Singh hit a ball from Lion-Cachet (1-22) to point and it was a miracle that Edwards held the ball during a collision with the square-built Michael Levitt (112/6).
The Netherlands had reached the late middle order and should now win. However, no one had forgotten Karan KC’s heroics against Scotland in the One Dayers. Doram settled for 3-14, but now the question was who would bowl the final overs.
Vikram had Karan KC caught by Levitt (128/7). Required: 25 runs from ten balls. Paudel (48) managed to hit Vikram for two consecutive fours. However, Vikram had the last laugh when Noah Croes took a brilliant catch at cow corner (137/8).
Kyle Klein had the honour of bowling the final over. Nine wanted from three balls, seven from two balls. The ball looked to fly over the boundary, but O’Dowd pushed it back. Four for a tie, five for Nepalese victory. Yadav smashed the half volley through the covers for four and the Super Over was a fact! A great final over for the neutral cricket fan.
Three Super Overs
But that wasn’t the end of the story. The ball was thrown to star Daniel Doram for the Super Over. Nepal made nineteen runs from the over. The Netherlands had to make eleven runs from the last two balls. Max O’Dowd hit the penultimate for six and the last for four: a second tie, this time 19-19!
In the second Super Over, O’Dowd and Edwards defended the Dutch honour and Rajbanshi the Nepalese. Edwards started with a wonderful slog sweep for six. O’Dowd’s six was over extra cover. Edwards was caught off the last ball, making 17/1 the final score.
The ball was now given to Kyle Klein to defend these seventeen runs. Airee and Paudel were chosen as Nepalese batters. Paudel started with a six over the top; twelve runs wanted from five balls and seven from three. Two brilliant dot balls, six wanted for a third tie! Klein chose to bowl round the wicket and paid the price: 17-17!
The Dutch started the third Super Over much better. Paudel mistimed the ball from Lion-Cachet and Klein took the catch on long off. After two dots Edwards took a caught behind: 0/2 and Nepal “all out”!
The Dutch now had to make one run from the third Super Over and at least not lose two wickets. Michael Levitt ‘played it safe’ and pounded the ball for six! A sensational win for the Dutch, and the grapes were sour for the fantastic Nepalese.
