Nepal will look to close their home ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 series with another statement win when they face USA at TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur, on Friday.
After losing a close opening match against Scotland, Nepal bounced back strongly. They beat USA and then Scotland to move out of the bottom two after a long wait. They now sit fifth with 22 points from 27 matches.
A win over USA would take Nepal to 24 points from 28 matches. That would keep them within reach of the top four, with Netherlands currently fourth on 28 points from 24 matches and Oman third with 31 points from 28 matches. USA and Scotland lead the table with 38 points each.
Nepal have already won three matches in their earlier home series against Oman and UAE. They have now won two in the ongoing series against USA and Scotland. Friday's match gives them a chance to complete a sixth home win across the two League 2 series.
The batting focus will again be on Kushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh Airee. Kushal has given Nepal strong starts in the last two games, while Dipendra has been in excellent form with the bat and ball. In his last six batting innings, Dipendra has scored one century and two half-centuries. He has also taken nine wickets in seven home-series matches.
Sandeep Lamichhane remains Nepal’s key wicket-taking option. He took eight wickets in the previous home series and has already taken eight more in three matches in the ongoing series.
USA, meanwhile, returned to winning ways by beating Scotland on Wednesday. They had lost their first two matches of the series but remain at the top of the standings. Smit Patel and Saiteja Mukkamalla have led their batting effort, scoring 192 and 143 runs respectively in three matches.
Head-to-head, Nepal and USA have met 12 times in ODIs. USA lead with six wins, while Nepal have five. One match ended in a tie. In Kirtipur, however, Nepal have won all three ODIs between the two sides.
Nepal are likely to retain the same XI after back-to-back wins. USA captain Monank Patel has not played since the opening match due to a finger injury, and his availability remains unclear. If he returns, Sanjay Krishnamurthi could make way.
Probable Nepal XI
Rohit Paudel (c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Ishan Pandey, Aarif Sheikh, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi
Probable USA XI
Saiteja Mukkamalla, Smit Patel, Shayan Jahangir, Shehan Jayasuriya, Shubham Ranjane, Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi/Monank Patel, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Rushil Ugarkar, Saurabh Netravalkar
Match Details
Match: Nepal vs USA
Date: May 22, 2026
Time: 9:30 AM NST
Venue: TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
Weather: 26°C, 25-40% Chance of rain in the afternoon
