Author Archives: cricketnepal

Singapore registered a surprise 1-wicket victory over Delhi Wanderers on Wednesday in the Sagarmatha Cement Journey to World Cup Cricket Tournament, organized to help Nepal’s preparation for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers to be held in New Zealand. Singapore elected to field at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. Batting first, Delhi Wanderers put up 293/5 in allotted 45 overs. Delhi was at 73/4 in 15.1 overs but Arjun Gupta and Kshitiz Sharma put up a 217-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Gupta scored 133 runs off 129 balls and Sharma remained unbeaten with 92 off 91. Gupta blasted 12 boundaries and 7 sixes while Sharma hit nine boundaries and 2 sixes. Amjad Mehboob claimed three wickets for Singapore… Read More

Despite brilliant bowling performance of Som Pal Kami and half centuries from Mahesh Chhetri and Gyanendra Malla, Nepal cricket team suffered a 24-run defeat against visiting side Delhi Wanderers on Tuesday in the Sagarmatha Cement Journey to World Cup Cricket Tournament, organized to help the preparation of Nepal team for the upcoming ICC World Cup Qualifiers. Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake made some changes in the team that defeated Air India in the opening match of the tournament and included Naresh Budhayer, Ram Naresh Giri and Amrit Bhattarai in the team giving rest to captain Paras Khadka, Shakti Gauchan and Avinash Karn. Stand-in Captain Gyanendra Malla won the toss and Nepal elected to field. Delhi Wanderers was all out for 235… Read More

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced a 15-member Nepali U-19 squad under the captaincy of Bhuwan Karki on Monday for the upcoming ACC U-19 Asia Cup. Nepali U-19 team had finished third in the ACC U-19 Cup Elite held in Malaysia in May 2013 and booked its place for the age group Asia Cup. The ACC U-19 Asia Cup will be held in the UAE from December 28, 2013 to January 4, 2014. Ram Naresh Giri is appointed as the vice-captain of the Nepali U-19 team. Karki and Giri were also the part of Nepali team that played in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2012 held in Australia. Bivatsu Thapa, Yagyaman Kumal and Amit Shrestha also retained their place in… Read More

The government has decided to provide Rs 1 million each to 15 players of the Nepali cricket team that qualified for the ICC World T20. The cabinet meeting on Monday took the decision and congratulated the players and the team for making the country proud. Meanwhile, the government has decided to award Rs 500,000 to coach Pubudu Dassanayake and Rs 350,000 to other four officials of the team. Nepal has qualified to the ICC World T20 to be held in Bangladesh in March 2014 as it defeated Hong Kong by five wickets last Wednesday in the Qualifiers held in UAE. National Sports Council (NSC) had forwarded a proposal to the government on Thursday to provide cash reward to the team… Read More

Former Indian Test cricketer VVS Laxman congratulated Nepal cricket team for qualifying to the ICC World T20 and suggested Nepali sports authorities to provide as much exposure as possible to the players for more success. Laxman, who arrived in Kathmandu Monday afternoon as a special guest of the Journey to World Cup Cricket Tournament, handed over man-of-the-match award to Nepali pacer Avinash Karn after the inaugural match and shared opinions with Nepali cricket team and fans. “I congratulate Nepali team for qualifying to the World T20. I have been following your recent matches,” said Laxman during the presentation ceremony. “The way Paras (Khadka) got reception during the presentation, I remember India in 1983, when India had won the World Cup,”… Read More

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… Read More

The ESPN Cricinfo, cricket most prestigious website, named Nepal’s captain Paras Khadka amongst the Best XI of the World T20 Cup Qualifiers that concluded on Saturday in the UAE. In the list prepared by Peter Della Penna, Kadka is the one of the only two players to retain place in the list from the last year’s tournament best XI while Paul Stirling of Ireland to be the next. Khadka and spinner Shakti Gauchan were in Della Penna’s list after the 2012 edition of the World T20 Qualifiers. In the recent list prepared by Della Penna, three Netherlands players Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari and Ahsan Malik are included along with Tony Ura (PNG), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Max Sorensen (Ireland), Matt Machan… Read More

The arrival lounge at the Tribhuvan International Airport reverberated with chants of “We will hit sixes and fours, we will play the World Cup” as the national cricket team landed in Kathmandu on Sunday evening. The cricket team that qualified for the World T20, the World Cup of short-format cricket, and finished third in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers held in the UAE, received a heroes´ welcome and huge applauds from the hundreds of supporters upon its arrival at 6:05 pm. The fans had reached the airport with national flags in their hands and waited patiently for more than three hours at the airport premises braving the chill to welcome the team home. They held placards and banners with words… 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 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