Monthly Archives: February 2018

A rollercoaster of emotions with Team Nepal

In a country where the players are heroes and the sport acts as a balm of sorts, excitement is high for the side’s appearance in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018. How often does a team, chasing 195 for victory in 50 overs, get to 144/9 in 42.1 overs and still not concede defeat? This is Nepal’s story. In an ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division Two game in Windhoek on 14 February 2018, Karan KC got together with Sandeep Lamichhane for the last wicket with the target still 51 runs away. Lamichhane faced 18 balls and scored five runs. Karan did the rest, ending unbeaten on a 31-ball 42. Not to forget that Karan was not a top-order… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cup Qualifiers, Featured | Leave a comment

शक्ति समर्पण (माधव ढुंगाना, कान्तिपुर)

भैरहवाको पडसरीस्थित सिद्धार्थ राजमार्गसँगै जोडिएको पश्चिमतर्फको एउटा घरमा ८ वर्षदेखि साइनबोर्ड छ— ‘स्टार क्रिकेट एकेडेमी ।’ ८–१० वर्षे बालकदेखि लक्का जवानसम्म त्यहाँ भेला हुन्छन् । कोही ब्याट चलाउँदै त कोही बलिङ गर्दै हुन्छन् । अनि सबैलाई सिकाईरहेका हुन्छन् प्रख्यात क्रिकेटर शक्ति गौचन । डेढ दशकयता नेपाली टिमकै सशक्त खेलाडीका रूपमा स्थापित शक्तिले भैरहवामा एकेडेमी चलाएर क्रिकेटमा ऊर्जा थपिरहेछन् । थप पढ्न कान्तिपुरमा जानुहोस् ।

Posted in समाचार | Leave a comment

Nepal to rely on raw talent in World Cup Qualifiers

Nepal will be the youngest side when it enters next month’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in their quest to progress to the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over tournament – the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Nepal have not played an ODI in their young but impressive cricket history and the average age of their side is 24 years and one month. Furthermore, five of the six youngest players in the tournament are from Nepal. They are: 15-year-old right-handed batsman Rohit Paudel, 17-year-old wrist-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, 18-year-old all-rounder Dipendra Airee, 19-year-old left-arm spinner Lalit Rajbanshi and right-handed batsman Anil Sah. Nepal have earned their maiden ticket to the qualifier by finishing second in last week’s ICC World Cricket League Division… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cup Qualifiers, Featured | Leave a comment

Team Nepal gets heroic welcome

The chilling weather and late arrival time were not a concern for hundreds of fans outside the Tribhuwan International Airport as they waited hours to give Team Nepal heroes’ welcome. The team returned after a successful World Cricket League Division 2 campaign from Namibia. Nepal finished as runners-up in the tournament but in doing so booked their spot for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Qualifiers to be held in Zimbabwe from March first week. Hundreds of fans were present to welcome the team and were kept waiting for more than an hour due to operational delay. The arrival of the team was welcome with rapturous cries of names of the members of the team. The crowd also chanted… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cricket League Division 2, Featured | Leave a comment

Nepal’s World Cup Qualifiers 2018 fixtures

After finishing top two in the World Cricket League 2018, Nepal qualified for the 2018 ICC World Cup Qualifiers to be held in Zimbabwe from March 4 to 25, 2018. The finalists of the Qualifiers will both progress to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to be held in England and Wales, whilst the Netherlands (ICC World Cricket League Championship winners) and the three highest finishing Associate Members will earn ODI status till 2022 upon the conclusion of the event. The West Windies, Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and UAE make up Group A, while Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Nepal form Group B. Each side will play the other teams in their group once with the top… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cup Qualifiers | Leave a comment

Nepal ends second to UAE in WCL 2 despite Paras’ century

Nepal scored a total that has become unimaginable giving poor batting performances with captain Paras Khadka getting a classy century, still UAE beat Nepal by 7 runs to claim the World Cricket League Division 2 title at the Wanderers. Paras hit three sixes in the final over to complete his century and finish high on unbeaten 112 but it was enough to surpass UAE’s 277 for 4. Nepal fall short by 7 runs – as they just scored 6 runs in earlier two overs making it impossible in the final over to win. Two centuries  Ashfaq Ahmed led UAE’s innings with a century to finish at 277/4 after being invited to bat first. The opening pair, Ashfaq and captain Rohan… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cricket League Division 2, Featured | Leave a comment

Karan KC’s magic earns Nepal’s a spot in World Cup Qualifiers

It was a pure magical performance by Karan KC whose 42 not out pulled off an unbelievable one-wicket victory against Canada at the World Cricket League Division 2 in Windhoek, Namibia. The victory put Nepal in the final of the tournament and got promoted to the Division 1, but more importantly it meant Nepal qualified for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers to be held in Zimbabwe from March 4 to 25, 2018. On the scores book, the match read: Canada 194 for 8 in 50 overs (Wijeratne 103*, Basant 3/34, Sandeep 2/40) lost of Nepal 195 for 9 in 50 overs (Karan 42*, Dilip 41, Rohit 27, Aarif 26, Dipendra 18, Pervez 3/41, Dutta 2/23, Zafar 2/26) by 1 wicket.… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cricket League Division 2, Featured | Leave a comment

Nepal beat Kenya after Sandeep’s best bowling performance

Sandeep Lamichhanne returned with the best bowling figure by any Nepali player in List A cricket matches; and Aarif Sheikh and Rohit Paudel showed enough nerves to rescue Nepal from a difficult position to register a close win. Kenya made 177/8 in 50 overs as bowlers – except Sandeep – struggled to take wickets at the Wanderers Cricket Ground. Nepal’s chase was – as always – in trouble when it was 14/3 and later 82/5. Aarif and Rohit added 87 runs to take Nepal to a winning position. In last over, Nepal needed 6 runs with Rohit and Sompal Kami batting. Rohit took two in the first ball, one in second ball and Sompal took another one in the third… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cricket League Division 2, Featured | Leave a comment

Paras, Sompal & Sandeep star in Nepal’s victory over UAE

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Nepal’s old foe which had in recent matches outperformed Nepal – thanks to their ODI status. And, when the two teams went head to head in the World Cricket League Division 2 match, both were desperate for victory having won one of two matches. It turned out that Nepal still have the strength to beat the UAE with three star performers – pacer Sompal Kami, leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and all-rounder Paras Khakda – making crucial contributions to Nepal’s four wicket victory. Invited to bat first in a 34 overs per side match, UAE struggled to score runs and were bundled out for 114 in 31 overs. Nepal’s batting woes continued but quick-fire half-century from Paras… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cricket League Division 2, Featured | Leave a comment

Batting woes continue as Oman beat Nepal by 6 wickets

The batting woes continued for Nepal on the second day of the World Cricket League Division 2 that resulted in a loss against Oman. Asked to bat first, Nepal were bundled out for 138 in 46 overs. Oman needed 35.1 overs to register a victory losing four wickets on the way. Nepal saw a few batsmen get a start but their failure to convert the start into big score. Sharad Vesawkar (22), Dipendra Singh Airee (20), Dilip Nath (19), Paras Khadka (17) and Rohit Paudel (14) all got two-digit score but didn’t stay long to stablize Nepal’s innings. Sompal Kami hit a few shots to make 17 not out to give something to bowl for. Pacer Kaleemullah took 4/28 in… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cricket League Division 2 | Leave a comment

Nepal beat Namibia by 1 wicket in a nail-biting finish

He had done it a few times for Nepal for U19 team, but Basant Regmi’s unbeaten 24 off 24 balls against hosts Namibia was a master stroke. The left-arm orthodox, batting at No. 10, pulled a stunning one wicket victory in the World Cricket League Division 2. Nepal scored 139 for 9 in 49.2 overs to surpass Namibia’s 138 all out in 34. 2 overs at the Affies Park, Windhoek. When Basant walked into the ground with the bat, Nepal was at 104/8 needing another 35 runs for victory – that looked only a miracle. Sompal Kami made useful 13 runs but was not impressive as he was beaten repeatedly. With No. 11 Sandeep Lamichhane in, Namibia was near the… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cricket League Division 2, Featured | Leave a comment

WCL Div 2: Nepal hungry for next step

Nepal is taking on hosts Namibia in the opening fixture of ICC World Cricket League Division 2 on February 8. With top two teams, getting spots in the World Cup Qualifiers next month in Zimbabwe, Nepal has its eye set on the top prize. Speaking to media on the eve of the opening fixture, skipper Paras Khadka said the team is all set to convert all the hard-work in practice into the performance. “We have trained hard for this and the time has come to perform. It is not easy with opponents being strong too. So, we will take one game at a time,” said Khadka. Nepal has been struggling with the batting in recent international fixtures but Khadka is… Read More

Posted in 2018 World Cricket League Division 2, Featured | Leave a comment

Progress made towards Nepal’s readmission: ICC

A delegation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) has returned from Nepal following a series of meetings to progress discussions aimed at enabling the reinstatement of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) to ICC membership. The visit, led by ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja, was focused on the adoption of a revised constitution and subsequent elections with clear timelines in place to lay a solid foundation for the good governance of the sport in Nepal. Over the last 12 months, the ICC has worked closely with the Nepal Advisory Group (NAG), which comprises representatives of CAN, the Nepal Government and the broader cricket community, to draft a new constitution. This was one of a number of reinstatement conditions that the ICC… Read More

Posted in Cricket Association of Nepal, Featured | Leave a comment

Mixed results for Nepal in WCL Div 2 preparation tour

Nepal’s preparation for the upcoming ICC World Cricket League Division 2 ended with mixed results after a loss in third and final preparatory match against the UAE ‘A’ on February 2. Nepal won two and lost one against the same opponents. In the first match played on January 30, Nepal registered a 25 run victory after bundling out home team for 221 in 48.4 overs. Skipper Paras Khadka bagged 5-wicket haul while U-19 skipper Dipendra Singh Airee helped him with 3 wickets. Earlier, Nepal posted 246 in 49.3 overs. Opener Dilip Nath top-scored with 60 runs off 61 balls while Rohit Kumar Paudel chipped in valuable 43 runs in the middle. Karan KC’s 16-ball-35 with 4 fours and 2 sixes… Read More

Posted in Featured, Senior | Leave a comment

यसरी मिल्दै छ नेपाली क्रिकेटको विवाद, कसले के–के त्यागे ? (हाम्रोकुरा)

अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय क्रिकेट परिषद् आइसिसीले नेपाल क्रिकेट संघ क्यान माथिको निलम्बन फुकुवा गर्ने प्रष्ट जनाउ दिएको छ । आइसीसीले आफु लिएको समयसीमाभित्र गर्नु पर्ने सबै काम गरिसक्नु पर्जे शर्त राखेको छ । नेपाली क्रिकेटको विवाद समाधनको सहजिकरण गर्न उपाध्यक्ष इमरान ख्वाजाको नेतृत्वमा नेपाल आएको टोलीले दुई दिन (आइतबार र सोमबार) क्रिकेटसँग सम्बन्धित पक्षसँग छलफल गर्‍यो । ख्वाजासहितको टोलीले नेपालमा रहदा निर्वाचित क्यान तथा सल्लाहकार समूहसहित राखेपका सदस्यसचिव केशव विष्टसँग छलफल गरेको थियो । बैठकपछि सल्लाहकार समितिले बनाएको विधान पारित गर्ने र निर्वाचनका लागि निगरानी (मोनिटरिङ) समिति बनाउने सहमति भएको थियो । समितिमा ३ जना आइसीसीका सदस्य रहने र निर्वाचित क्यान र खेलकूद परिषद्का १–१ जना सदस्य रहनेछन् । जसले प्रदेश र केन्द्रको निगरानी गर्ने छ । आवश्यकता अनुसार जिल्लामा ३ सदस्यीय… Read More

Posted in समाचार | Leave a comment

ACC release calendar of events for 2018

Nepal will play the Asia Cup Qualifiers in September, according to calendar of events for 2018 released by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The Asia Cup Qualifiers, to be hosted by India, will be six-team event with Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, and UAE with the winner qualifying for the Asia Cup 2018 later the same month. The participants are 6 best ranked Associate teams in Asia. The winner will join five Asian Test nations – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, for the Asia Cup 2018. The winner will also qualify for the Emerging Teams’ Asia Cup in December, 2018 that will be the contest between U23 teams of Test nation and the national team of qualifiers. Participation… Read More

Posted in Asian Cricket Council (ACC) | Leave a comment