Monthly Archives: November 2013

Sharad Vesawkar once again managed his composure and attacking streak to enable Nepal take the third position at the ICC World T20 Qualifiers, beating UAE by five wickets at the Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Vesawkar hammered two consecutive sixes in last over – something that he has become accustomed to now – as Nepal needed 11 runs in the last over, to overhaul the 132 run target set by UAE. The sixes came off Shadeep Silva, who had bowled 3 overs earlier for mere 10 runs. Nepal reached the target with 4 balls to spare. Vesawkar managed 43 off 29 deliveries that included three hits to the fence and three over the fence. Such is Vesawkar’s… Read More

Afghanistan managed its complete dominance over Nepal in T20 format of cricket, defeating Nepal by seven wickets in the semifinal of ICC World T20 Qualifiers on Friday played at the Sheikd Jayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It was Nepal’s fifth defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in the shortest format of cricket. Earlier, Nepal was defeated at the hands of Afghanistan during the group stage of the same tournament a week ago.

Himali Khadka Vesawkar is not a well known name among Nepali sports fans, but her son is. Sharad Vesawkar is a household name among cricket fanatics, and his heroics against Hong Kong at the ICC World T20 Qualifiers in Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday, has shot him to stardom. Over the years, there have been many critics who doubted Sharad´s caliber. But, his mother always had faith that her son had it in him to do his country proud. “I woke up early on Wednesday as I had to go a nearby temple and pray for the Nepali cricket team,” said Himali, the proud mother of the cricketer. “I made laddoos (sweetmeats) to offer to the Lord Ganesh… Read More

Nepal witnessed its biggest success in sports history, when the Nepal cricket team made it to the World T20, the shortest format of Cricket World Cup, defeating Hong Kong in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers. The match was witnessed by thousands of Nepali fans on television in Nepal. The achievement is laudable as it has come merely 17 years after Nepal started playing international tournaments. Nepal overcame a big hurdle, entering the World Cup, to the excitement of all who follow the game. But the road ahead is likely to be challenging. The team will now be facing bigger teams, which are better equipped, both technically and skill-wise. Nepal must prepare hard to take on the stronger sides like Bangladesh… Read More

Nepal will look to avenge group stage defeat against Afghanistan when they lock horns in the semifinal of ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers on Friday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Nepal had suffered a nine-wicket defeat against the well known foes on 22nd of November in the penultimate group match reduced to seven overs due to rainfall and wet outfield. During their group stage encounter both the teams were under must win situation to confirm berth in the World T20. But now both teams of group B have qualified. Looking at the past records, Afghanistan holds an edge over Nepal. The two sides have met five times in the short format event and Afghanistan has won all of… Read More

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has decided to reward all the members of the team that qualified for World T20. The team members are to get Rs 100,000 each in cash. CAN issued a statement to make the declaration. The “The emergency meeting of CAN has decided to reward the players with 100,000 each and hike their monthly salary from Rs 5000 to Rs 10,000,” the statement said. Similarly, the meeting has also decided to increase the player revolving fund worth Rs 1 million to Rs 2 million.

Nepal qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 2014 in Bangladesh with a thrilling, five-wicket win over Hong Kong off the last ball in the quarterfinal of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Sent in to bat, Hong Kong lost its first wicket in the second over, with Irfan Ahmed falling to Jitendra Mukhiya, the medium-pacer, for 8. Avinash Karn then struck after three overs to remove Jamie Atkinson, the Hong Kong captain, to leave the side struggling at 25 for 2 in 4.1 overs. Waqas Barkat and Nizakat Khan scored 25 runs each as Mukhia and Karn continued troubling the batsmen with disciplined bowling. Late cameos from Munir Dar (20)… Read More

Nepali cricket team is on the brink of its maiden T20 World Cup, with only Hong Kong standing between it and glory. Wednesday’s clash against Hong Kong in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE is the biggest match of the national squad in its 17-year history. If Nepal wins the match, it will qualify for the T20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh next year. The losing side will get another playoff opportunity to secure berth in the sporting extravaganza. Nepal’s skipper Paras Khadka says his men will have to play to the best of their abilities if they are to defeat Hong Kong, which finished as Group A runner-up in… Read More

Entire country seems to be gripped by cricket fever, thanks to Team Nepal playing in the World T20 qualifiers and just one victory away from playing its maiden World T20. Nepal faces Hong Kong on Wednesday in the second round of the ICC World T20 Qualifiers in the UAE, and a win in this match will secure Nepal’s place in the finals to be held next year in Bangladesh. Not only cricket fans but those with little or no knowledge of cricket are eagerly waiting for Nepal’s upcoming match. However, three well-known Nepali cricketers — former captain Binod Das, Prithu Baskota and Sanjam Regmi — have missed the qualifiers due to injuries. Das and Regmi have been regular members of… Read More

Nepal finished third in Group B of the ICC World T20 Cup Qualifiers in UAE – thanks to results of two matches coming in Nepal’s favors. Nepal will now meet Hong Kong on November 27 with the victorious team ensuring a place for World T20 Cup 2014 Bangladesh.

Nepal secured a playoff spot in the World T20 Cup Qualifiers to remain in contention for the qualification to the world stage by beating Bermuda. Nepal beat Bermuda by 21 runs in its last group match in Dubai to advance into the second round of the ICC World T20 Qualifiers.

In an all important match, Afghanistan registered a 9-wicket victory ending Nepal’s chances to finish top of the group. The rainfall threatened a no-play but a 7-over-a-side match was played and Nepal proved no match to Afghanistan despite posting 73/3.

Nepal plays Afghanistan on Friday in an important fixture of the ICC World T20 Qualifiers at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE. A victory to either of the team will strengthen their dreams of makings into the World T20 directly as group B winner while the defeat is likely to take a lengthy route. Nepal lies in fourth position with six points, the same points as Kenya, but lower position due to low run rate. Similarly, Afghanistan is in second position of the table, having equal eight points along group leader Netherlands. All the teams in the group have played five matches each and are yet to play two matches in the eight-team group. Afghanistan will take on comparatively stronger… Read More

The Netherlands registered a comfortable five-wicket victory over Nepal at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE on Wednesday dealing a big blow to Nepali hopes of topping Group B in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers. On Wednesday, Nepali players performed below par in both batting and bowling as the Netherlands achieved a modest target of 108 runs in 16.2 overs losing five wickets. Opener Stephen Myburgh topscored for the Netherlands with 31 runs off 20 balls, while Eric Szwarczynski remained unbeaten on 21.Though the Netherlands kept losing wickets at regular intervals, all the batsmen were able to reach double figures, the only exception being Michael Swart (3). Opener Myburgh smashed five fours and a six, while Szwarczynski hit a… Read More

All knew Binod Bhandari is a big hitter – the flashes of his capacity was scattered in his knocks – but for the first time, he proved his worth as a middle-order big-hitting batsman with a brilliant half-century loaded with sixes to beat Papua New Guinea (PNG) by 7 wickets. Nepal beat Papua New Guinea (PNG) by seven wickets in the 30th match of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on November 19.

Nepal slumped to its first defeat in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers on Monday as Scotland finally got off the mark with an eight-wicket victory at the Global Cricket Academy Ground 2 in Dubai, UAE. Opener Calum McLeod starred for the ODI team smashing an unbeaten 82 runs as Scotland achieved the target of 138 runs with four balls to spare for its first win in three matches. Kyle Coetzer remained unbeaten on 20 runs and Matt Machan contributed 28 runs. It was the first meeting between the national teams of the two countries. McLeod hammered three sixes and five fours during his 64-ball knock. Similarly, Machan struck a six and three fours facing 19 deliveries. Nepal´s skipper Paras Khadka… Read More

Nepal pulled off a miraculous six-wicket victory over Kenya with two balls to spare on Saturday in a thrilling encounter of the ICC World T20 Qualifiers held in Dubai, UAE. It was the second victory in a row for Nepal from as many matches played. Chasing a mammoth target of 183 runs, Sharad Vesawkar smashed 23 runs off six deliveries including three sixes and a double in the last over. Nepal required 17 runs for victory in the last over and Vesawkar — who was guilty of giving away 30 runs in a single over during Nepal’s bowling — earned 20 off four deliveries. [embedplusvideo height=”281″ width=”500″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/Ibkalk” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/fptWvx0CxpE?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=fptWvx0CxpE&width=500&height=281&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep8735″ /] The final over! Video by ICC. Besides Vesawakar,… Read More

In what may look like the rematch of Thursday, Region No 2 (Birgunj) and Region No 3 (Kathmandu) on Friday set up title clash of the Wai Wai U-19 National Cricket. Birgunj defeated Region No 9 (Kanchanpur) by six wickets in the semifinal to set up final against Kathmandu, which thumped Region No 7 (Janakpur) by 99 runs on Friday. Kathmandu had defeated Birgunj by two wickets in the group stage on Thursday. At the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Kanchanpur was bowled out for 232 runs in the penultimate ball of the innings after it won the toss and opted to bat first. Birgunj reached the target in 47 overs losing four wickets. Player-of-the-match Ram Naresh Giri produced an… Read More

Nepal began its World T20 Qualifiers campaign in style, thrashing Denmark by 5 wickets in the first match at the ICC Academy Oval 2, in Dubai on Friday. After restricting Denmark to a paltry total of 79, Nepal overhauled the target of 80 with more than 6 overs to spare, thanks to swashbuckling innings by Paras Khadka. Khadka made 48 runs including 5 sixes and a four. However, Nepali chase was not without hiccups, as it lost 2 wickets without any score on the board. Opener Pradeep Airee and vice-captain Gyanendra Malla were back in the pavilion before the second over concluded. Then, captain Khadka and Subash Khakurel (17) steadied the ship for Nepal, with a 67-run partnership. As soon… Read More

Team Nepal begins its World T20 campaign on Friday, taking on Denmark in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers at the GCA 2, Dubai. The European opponent may not be a big threat to Nepal, if you consider their performance for past couple of years. However, the road to the World Cup is still a big challenge to Nepal. Unlike Nepal, which is considered as a strong contender, Denmark is rated as one of the weakest sides of the group. In the same tournament held last year, Denmark had finished at the bottom of table in the 16-team contest. Then, Nepal had defeated Denmark by nine wickets with a sensational hat-trick from spinner Shakti Gauchan. It was the first ever international… Read More

Nepal has again been drawn alongside with India and Pakistan in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup in the fixture released by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Thursday. Along with India, Pakistan and Nepal, group A consist of UAE, in the event scheduled from December 28 to January 4 in UAE. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Malaysia make up group B. In the first edition held on June 2012 in Malaysia, Nepal was drawn along with Asian powerhouse India and Pakistan in group round and lost both matches. Nepal will meet Pakistan in its opening match at the ICC GCA 1 in its opening match on December 28 and India on the following day at the same venue and host UAE… Read More

Region no 3 (Kathmandu) maintained its winning streak, defeating Region no 2 (Birgunj) to fix semifinal date against ´comparatively easy´ opponent – an emerging winner of group A – on Thursday in the Wai Wai U-19 National Cricket Tournament being held in the capital. In the clash of already qualified teams for the semifinals, Kathmandu overcame Birgunj by two wickets to get Region no 7 (Janakpur), the group B runner-up, as the opponent for entry into the final. Birgunj will meet Region no 9 (Kanchanpur), the winner of group A, in the last four. Both the semifinal matches will be held on Friday. Put to bat first at the Bhaktapur ground, Birgunj was bundled out for a paltry total of… Read More

The semifinal line-up in the Wai Wai U-19 National Cricket Tournament was completed on Wednesday with Region No 2 (Birgunj) and Region No 3 (Kathmandu) joining Region No 9 (Kanchanpur) and Region No 7 (Janakpur) in the last-four of the competition. Birgunj and Kathmandu secured berths in the last-four from Group A with a match in hand after Birgunj defeated Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by four wickets at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Wednesday for its second straight win. The result puts undefeated Birgunj and Kathmandu on top of the standings with four points each in the four-team group. Region No 1 (Biratnagar) and Region No 6 (Baitadi) — both pointless — crashed out with a match in… Read More