Monthly Archives: March 2014

It was a clash of worldviews on display at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on March 20 and the gritty, never-say-die attitude of Nepal trumped the uber-confident boom or bust approach of Afghanistan. The result didn’t mean much in terms of the ICC World Twenty20 2014, for Bangladesh progressed to the Super 10 despite an embarrassing 2-wicket thrashing from hands of Hong Kong. But in the larger scheme of things, the hard-earned nine-run win meant that Nepal showed the world what rapid strides it had made in the game in a short period of time. When Afghanistan won the toss and put Nepal in, there were signs that Mohammad Nabi believed he could bully the opposition a touch. Shapoor Zadran,… Read More

Arch rivals Nepal and Afghanistan will be looking to pull out all stops when they face each other on Thursday in their last group stage match of the ICC World T20 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Both the sides have slim chances of progressing to the next round. Even a win on Thursday will not be sufficient for either of the teams to guarantee their place in the Super 10 round. Their fate also hinges on the outcome of the fixture between Bangladesh and Hong Kong. But victory over Afghanistan would be a big achievement for Nepal, which has never defeated the Afghans since 2004. Nepal’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake hinted that his side’s challenge for the… Read More

Test nation Bangladesh proved too mighty as the host defeated Nepal by eight wickets with 27 balls remaining. At Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, Nepal put up matured batting performance against the host to reach 126/5. Nepal lost opener Subash Khakurel at eight runs off 13 balls while his opening partner Sagar Pun scored 12 runs off 19 balls. Gyanendra Malla started beautifully but Al-Amin Hossain trapped him LBW while he was on 13 runs off six balls. Skipper Paras Khadka and Sharad Vesawkar put up the 85-run fourth wicket partnership, the highest partnership for Nepal in T20s. Khadka was bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza while attempting a scoop. Khadka blasted 41 runs off 35 balls including four boundaries. Vesawkar scored… Read More

Nepal awaits its biggest challenge in the group stage of ICC World Twenty20, playing against host Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Tuesday. Bangladesh is the only Test playing nation of group A. This is Nepal’s first encounter against the Test playing team. Both the sides started their campaign on Saturday with resounding victories. Nepal overcame Hong Kong by 80 runs and Bangladesh edged past Afghanistan by nine wickets. A victory to either of the team will strengthen their bid to move to the next round. Playing against a test playing side, Nepal is an underdog. But Nepal’s skipper Paras Khadka does not seem much bothered about the result while Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim is no… Read More

Nepal began its ICC World T20 campaign in a fairytale mode with a resounding 80-run win over Hong Kong, in the event that began on Sunday, at the  Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong. Good batting, followed by brilliant bowling display from the Nepali team avenged the 10-wicket defeat suffered during the World Cup Qualifiers in January in New Zealand. Put in to bat first, after losing the toss, Nepal posted a competitive target of 150 runs and bowled out Hong Kong for 69 runs with three overs to spare. Vice captain Gyanendra Malla and captain Paras Khadka showed sparks with the bat and later Paras took the key wicket of Hong Kong opener Irfan Ahmed in the very first ball… Read More

I arrived this morning at Chittagong, the Port City of Bangladesh to watch and Cover ICC World T20. Nepal qualified for the highest level of competitive cricket after defeating Hong Kong in the World T20 Qualifiers played in November, 2013. The win itself was miraculous, as Nepal beat Hong Kong in a thrilling match that went up to the last ball. Chittagong, which is around 250 kilometers east from capital city Dhaka, is comparatively calm, less crowded than the Bangladeshi capital. After escaping from infamous traffic jam of Dhaka, my focus turned to cricket. Nepal has to play against Hong Kong in the opening group match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. Stage is all set for the both… Read More

Nepal suffered another defeat in its second and final warm up match of the ICC World T20 at the Fatullah Stadium, in Fatullah, Dhaka. UAE defeated Nepal by 6 wickets, chasing a target of 96. Defending a smallish target, Nepali bowlers began well, as Amjad Ali was trapped leg before in the very first over off Paras Khadka. UAE lost its second wicket with score at 14 runs and third at 34. But for UAE, the overhaul of the target was always going to be one good partnership away. And that partnership came in when Swapnil Patil (40) came in after the fall of Khurram Khan (15). He forged a 48-run partnership for the 4th wicket in 8.4 overs with… Read More

Nepal began its Bangladesh campaign with a  five-wicket defeat at the hands of topmost associate team Ireland in its first official warm up match of the ICC World T20 at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium in Fatullah, Dhaka on Wednesday. Nepal conceded 18 runs in the 18th over, as Ireland batsman Gary Wilson hit two sixes off spinner Shakti Gauchan to give Irish team the victory.  Before that, Nepal remained competitive, despite scoring 137 in its innings. “I am satisfied with the result and the team’s overall performance,” Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake said. “We gave away many runs in the last two overs.” Put to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal posted 137 runs for seven. Ireland achieved the target… Read More