Nepal made a disastrous start in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Qualifiers losing to United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 102 runs at Rangiora Oval, New Zealand.
UAE scored 297 for 8 in 50 overs – thanks to century by Shaiman Anwar and half-century by Swapnil Patil, before ending Nepal’s innings at 195 in 48.1 overs.
Nepal was out of contention within 18 overs of its innings when five batsmen – Anil Mandal (0), Mahesh Chhetri (9), captain Paras Khadka (12), Sagar Pun (25) and Gyanendra Malla (4) were back to pavilion with scoreboard reading 53 for 5.
Manjula Guruge bowled some brilliant pace to get both the openers out – Anil trapped lbw in first ball of second over and Mahesh bowled.
Kamran Shazad added two – Sagar and Gyanendra – after Paras was dismissed softly by Amjad Javed.
Binod Bhandari played aggressively in an attempt to accelerate run-rate and to see if there was a chance, but his over aggression made his knock short. He scored 37 off 29 balls adding 49 with Sharad Vesawakar.
Sharad and Shakti Gauchan did score runs, but that was more an attempt to narrow down the margin as net run rate could come into play in later stage of the tournament.
Sharad completed his half-century in 82 balls and was out a couple of balls later. His 54 off 86 balls was a patient knock and consisted just three fours.
Shakti remained unbeaten on 37 off 53 balls as Nepal lost last three wickets within a run. Sompal Kami and Jitendra Mukhiya lasted three balls together.
Shaiman Anwar of UAE after hitting century against Nepal. Photo © IDI/Getty Images
Earlier, Nepal had UAE opener Amjad Ali in first over as a run out but failed to put pressure on UAE as they continued to score runs against pacers and spinners alike.
Salmas Faris (35) and Khurram Khan (21) created some foundation on which Shaiman and Swapnil created their brilliant knock.
The pair added 145 runs for fourth wicket and took away the match from Nepal’s hand. Anwar completed his century in 92 balls and was out on 109 off 96 balls while Patil got 74 off 78 deliveries.
UAE should’ve passed 300 mark but some tight bowling and wickets in later stage of innings kept them tight. Apart from Javel (16 not out) no other batsmen in lower order got double-digit.
Once again, Basant Regmi was pick of Nepali bowlers with 3 for 43 while Jitendra Mukhiya, despite being hammered in last over, got 2 for 58 in 8 overs. Shakti and Sagar also claimed a wicket each.
Nepal’s next match is against Scotland on January 16, Thursday.