Nepal cricket team started the Sagarmatha Cement Journey to World Cup Cricket Tournament in winning note as it registered comfortable five-wicket win over Indian club, Air India on Monday at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
Nepal team, which returned home only on Sunday from the UAE securing berth in the ICC World T20 2014 and finishing third in the Qualifiers, rested Gyanendra Malla, Basanta Regmi, Jitendra Mukhiya, Sharad Vesawkar, Subash Khakurel and Amrit Bhattarai for the inaugural match of the tournament. Wicket-keeper batsman Mahesh Chhetri and spinner Rahul Viswakarma didn’t play single match during the ICC World T20 Qualifiers though they were in the team and coach Pubudu Dassanayake gave them opportunity in the practice tournament. Meanwhile, injury-return Prithu Baskota and U-19 pacer Sompal Kami were also included in the team.
Nepal elected to field and bundled out Air India led by veteran Vijay Dhaiya at 155 runs in 44 overs as pacers Avinash Karn and Sompal Kami shared seven wickets between them. Nepal chased the simple total in 34.5 overs losing only five wickets as opener Chhetri scored half-century.
Young bowler Kami dismissed Air India captain Dhaiya (1 run) in the fourth over and Karn dismissed Hiten Dalal (five runs) and Sandeep Raj Kaushik (eight runs) soon. Jagrit Aanand (17 runs) and Pradeep Malik put up a 53-run partnership for the fourth wicket but Nepali skipper Khadka dismissed Anand in the 21st over. Sagar Pun trapped Shafiq Khan (four runs) LBW to limit Air India at 76/5.
Nepali bowler Sompal Kami
However, Malik and former Indian cricketer Ritender Singh Sodhi put up a 63-run partnership for the sixth wicket in an attempt to resurrect Air India’s innings. As the young bowler Kami dismissed both of them, rest of the Air India team failed bitterly. Malik garnered 57 runs off 90 balls and Sodhi scored 45 runs off 62 balls.
Man-of-the-match Karn was on the peak with a figure of 8-3-12-4. Kami claimed three wickets while Pun took two.
Man-of-the-match Avinash Karn receives the award from former Indian Test cricketer VVS Laxman.
Nepal started well as it chased the small total as Sagar Pun (18 runs off 22 balls) put up a 31-run opening partnership with Chhetri. Anil Mandal garnered another 18 runs off 30 balls for a 49-run second wicket partnership. Chhetri anchored the Nepali innings and put up another 54-run partnership with Prithu Baskota before Sandeep Raj Kaushik bowled him at the individual score of 65 runs off 89 balls. He hit five fours and a six. As Chhetri departed Nepal suffered a mini-collapse in a hurry to reach the target. Baskota added 22 runs off 53 balls including a towering six. Skipper Khadka struck 13 runs off 10 balls including a boundary and a six. Binod Bhandari scored 10 runs off six balls including a boundary and a six to seal the comfortable victory.
Mahesh Chhetri
Shivam Sharma claimed three wickets while Kaushik and Faruk Sheikh took a wicket each.
“Air India is an experience side but we are physically more fit and we have been playing higher level cricket recently,” said Nepal coach Dassanayake. “We all are tired but we are in a situation to complete selection process as soon as possible and start final preparation for the upcoming ICC World Cup Qualifiers,” he added.
Dassanayake said that he has called up players like Naresh Budhayer and Raj Kumar Pradhan for the tournament to get them in the selection process and to give rest to some regular players of the national squad.
Skipper Khadka credited pacers for the success. “We got good start and kept the momentum,” said Khadka. “We want to win in higher level and we have to adapt longer version of the game after the success in T20 format,” he added.
Air India captain Dhaiya said that his team would not repeat the mistakes they have committed against Nepal to stay in the tournament.
Nepal will take on Delhi Wanderers on Tuesday at the TU Cricket Ground.