Nepal take on Canada Sunday at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman, in a match that carries far more weight than its position in the standings might suggest. This is the 132nd match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, the competition’s final series, and for both teams, it’s essentially a fight to avoid losing ODI status altogether.
The match began at 11:15 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. UTC), with Nepal and Canada meeting as the third and final leg of a tri-series in Oman that also features the host nation.
Heading into Sunday, Canada sit sixth in the eight-team League 2 table with 25 points from 33 matches, while Nepal are seventh with 24 points from 32. Oman’s win over Canada by 41 runs in the series opener on Friday already reshaped the race, lifting Oman to fifth place and giving Nepal a bit of breathing room in their push for a top-six finish, since Canada failing to pick up points opened the door slightly wider.
That context matters because a top-six finish in League 2 isn’t just about pride. It determines which teams retain their full One Day International status going forward, a genuinely significant outcome for cricket boards in countries where resources and international fixtures are already hard to come by. For Nepal specifically, Oman’s win over Canada effectively ended any realistic shot at finishing in the top four, meaning Sunday’s focus has shifted toward the more immediate goal of simply holding onto ODI status.
Nepal will lean on the experience of captain Rohit Paudel, along with contributions expected from wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh and leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, a trio that’s provided much of the team’s stability through this League 2 cycle. Canada, on the other hand, will look to opener Yuvraj Samra to set the tone with the bat, while pace bowler Zahid Shirzad carries the responsibility of finding early breakthroughs.
Canada come into Sunday on the back of a rough run of form. Their recent results read L-L-L-L-L across their last several matches, including Friday’s loss to Oman, where Harsh Thaker was arguably their one bright spot with the ball, taking four wickets for 37 runs. That kind of form makes Sunday something closer to a must-win for Canada if they want to keep any real control over their own League 2 destiny.
This isn’t unfamiliar territory for either side. Nepal and Canada have met multiple times in recent years, including a 2024 bilateral ODI series in Nepal that Nepal won, taking the first match by 7 runs and sealing the series with a 4-wicket win in the second. That series history gives Sunday’s meeting a bit of an edge beyond just the points on the table, two teams who know each other’s game plans reasonably well heading into a match where the stakes are considerably higher.
For fans in Nepal, the match is being broadcast on Kantipur Max, with digital coverage also available through the channel’s YouTube page and mobile app. Viewers elsewhere can check ICC.tv for availability, since international streaming rights vary by region and aren’t guaranteed everywhere.
With this tri-series marking the end of the 2024–2026 League 2 cycle, Sunday’s result will go a long way toward settling exactly where Nepal and Canada land in the final standings. Neither team controls its fate entirely, since Oman’s results factor into the equation too, but for both Nepal and Canada, this match is as close to a straight shootout for ODI survival as the format allows. Whoever comes out on top Sunday will take a meaningful step toward security heading into the next World Cup qualification cycle, while the loser will be left hoping the rest of the results around them fall the right way.
