Cricket Nepal (Archive)

Region No 3 (Kathmandu) crashed out of the Wai Wai Women’s U-19 National Cricket Tournament as Region No 7 (Janakpur) registered a seven-wicket victory over it on Monday at the TU Cricket Ground.

Kathmandu, which had lost to Region No 2 (Birgunj) on Sunday, elected to bat and put up 66/6 in 20 overs. Due to the rain, the match was reduced to 20 overs per side from 25 overs. Janakpur reached the target in 18 overs losing only three wickets. Following the victory, defending champion Janakpur restored its hope of reaching semifinal. Janakpur had lost to Nepalgunj on Sunday.

Usha Bhujel scored 18 runs off 49 balls for Janakpur while Sarswoti Chaudhary remained unbeaten with 12 runs off 21 balls to seal the victory. Opener Shanti Chaudhary scored 11 runs off 28 balls. Asmina Karmacharya, Shanti Khatiwada and Susma Shrestha claimed a wicket each for Kathmandu. Kathmandu made Janakpur’s victory easier as they bowled 20 runs as extras.

Earlier, Kathmandu had put up a small total as the lower order batswomen faltered. Openers Kanchan Shrestha and Sandhya KC had scored 11 runs each for Kathmandu. Sangita Gauchan remained unbeaten with 13 runs off 34 balls but wickets kept on falling at the other end. None of the other batters reached the double-digit scores. Kathmandu would have more humiliating score on the board, had not Janakpur given away 22 runs as extras.

Roji Kadari took two wickets for Janakpur while player-of-the-match Sarswoti Chaudhary and Amrita Chaudhary claimed a wicket each.

Janakpur has two points from two matches while Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) and Region No 2 (Birgunj) have equal three points each from two matches at the top of the Group A points table.

Nepalgunj and Birgunj shared a point each on Monday as their group stage match was abandoned after persistent raining at the TU Ground. The match was abandoned when Birgunj was batting at 50/6 in 14 overs. Dimple Khadka had taken two wickets and Geeta Rana and Sarmila Rokka Magar had claimed a wicket each to trouble Birgunj by then.

Janakpur will take on Birgunj on Tuesday while Nepalgunj will lock horns with Kathmandu to decide semifinalists from the Group A of the tournament.

Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) upset defending champion Region No 7 (Janakpur) by 45 runs in the opening day of the Wai Wai Women’s U-19 National Cricket Tournament on Sunday.

Nepalgunj elected to bat and was all out for 99 runs in 24.4 overs at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. In reply, Janakpur was all out for only 54 runs in 15.1 overs.

Nepalgunj got poor start and was at 14 for 6 in 5.3 overs. However, RekhaBC and Sabitri Chhetri played crucial knocks to rescue Nepalgunj. They put up a 76-run partnership for the seventh wicket. BC scored 41 runs off 64 balls while Chhetri added invaluable 27 runs off 48 balls. BC struck five boundaries. Five of Nepalgunj batswomen were out without scoring. Janakpur bowlers bowled 23 runs for extras.

Sabitri KC of Nepalgunj bats against Janakpur.

Rosi Kadari took three wickets while Mamta Chaudhary and Amrita Chaudhary claimed two wickets each for Janakpur.

Chasing a 100-run target, none of the Janakpur batswomen except Sarswoti Chaudhary showed resistance to the bowling attacks of Nepalgunj. Chaudhary remained unbeaten with 13 runs off 26 balls while rest of the others failed to reach a double-digit score. Had not Nepalgunj bowled 25 runs as extras, Janakpur would have to suffer more humiliating defeat.

Player-of-the-match Samana Pun dismissed four batswomen of Janakpur while Anu KC and Dimple Khadka claimed two wickets each.

Birgunj beats Kathmandu

In the opening match of the tournament, Region No 2 (Birgunj) defeated Region No 3 (Kathmandu) by four wickets.

Kathmandu elected to bat at the TU Cricket Ground and was all out for 98 runs in 25 overs. Sita Shrestha and Puja Ghimire took three wickets each for Birgunj while Puspa Aryal and Nirmala Pakuwal claimed two wickets each to restrict Kathmandu in a low total. Kanchan Shrestha (13 runs off 30 balls) and Rabina Bhandari (12 runs off six balls) were the highest contributors for Kathmandu. Kathmandu received 35 runs from extras.

As Santi Khatiwada and Sajani Shrestha shared two wickets each and Sangita Gauchan trapped Dibya Shirvastav run out, Birgunj was at 33/5 in 6.5 overs. However, Sita Shrestha scored unbeaten 45 runs off 41 balls and Nisha Giri garnered 12 runs off 45 balls to guide Birgunj to victory. They put up a 63-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Ashmita Kharel trapped Giri LBW in the third ball of the 21st over but Puja Ghimire (one run) remained unbeaten with the player-of-the-match Shrestha to seal the four-wicket victory. Birgunj victory became easier as Kathmandu gave away 24 runs as extras.

Nepali pacer Avinash Karn was adjudge the best bowler of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup that concluded on Saturday in Malaysia but Nepali U-19 team suffered a six-wicket defeat with the host in third place play off.

Karn had claimed 24 wickets from the six matches with an economy of 4.21. His best bowling figure was against Bahrain in the group stage match, where he had claimed eight wickets for 24 runs including a hat-trick. His bowling average in the tournament was 8.33.

Avinash Karn with the best bowlers trophy. (Photo Courtesy: BIKRAM GIRI)

However, Karn’s individual success was the only thing to cheer by the Nepali team as the host Malaysia secured third place beating Nepal on Saturday.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first at Bayuemas Oval ground in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia bowled Nepal out just for 118 runs in 44 overs.

Chasing the modest victory target of 119 runs, Malaysia overcame it in 38.3 overs losing four wickets. For Malaysia, Ahmad Tajudin Ismail made 34 runs while Muhammad Syahadat Ramli scored 31 not out. Karn grabbed two Malaysian wickets.

Earlier, Ameet Shrestha top scored with 32 runs for Nepal while Harishankar Sah contributed 25 runs and Nirmal Thapa scored 12 runs to set modest target against Malaysia. Except the trio, others have failed even to reach in the double figure.

Kogilan Muthu grabbed three Nepali wickets while Muhammad Syahadat Ramli, Pavandeep Singh and Varun Nadesh took two wickets each. Dhivendran Mogan bagged a wicket for Malaysia.

On Friday, Nepal was defeated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 76 runs in the semifinals of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup. Likewise, Malaysia was defeated by Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan has won the title of ACC U-19 Elite Cup defeating the UAE by 10 wickets. After choosing to bat, the UAE was outplayed by Afghanistan and was bundled out for 57 in 27.2 overs.

Left-arm spinner Zia-ur-Rehman bowled brilliantly and claimed four wickets while Hashmatullah Shaidi claimed three wickets.

Afghanistan met the target in 11.1 overs without losing any wicket as Shaidi struck 50 runs off 43 balls.

Despite UAE’s defeat, both the teams now move on to the ICC U19 World Cup next year, Afghanistan as the Asia Region winner and UAE as the host.

Nepal’s hope of playing seventh ICC U-19 World Cup ended as the United Arab Emirates thrashed it by 76 runs on Friday in the semifinal of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup being held in Malaysia.

As International Cricket Council (ICC) has a provision of promoting the champion of ACC U-19 Elite Cup, Nepal’s qualification dream ended with the semifinal loss. As UAE is pre-qualified for the upcoming U-19 World Cup as a host nation, Afghanistan confirmed its berth for the biggest age group tournament reaching the final after beating Malaysia on Friday.

It is the third time Nepal has failed to qualify to the ICC U-19 World Cup in the last nine editions. Nepal had failed to qualify for the U-19 World Cup in the 1998 and 2010. Nepal had played the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2012.

Nepal, which had registered emphatic victories in the group stage of the ACC tournament, won the toss and invited the UAE to bat first at Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur. However, the decision backfired as the UAE went on to make a huge 271/7 in 50 overs, with Shorye Chopra hitting a blistering 114 off 115 balls with 17 fours and a six.

Chasing a big total, Nepal was all out for 195 in 46.1 overs. Napal batsman Harishankar Shah tried to anchor the innings as he garnered 52 runs off 67 balls with eight hits to the fence. Meanwhile skipper Bhuwan Karki offered some resistance scoring 41 off 48 balls with three fours and a six. Nirmal Thapa added 23 runs off 43 balls.

Besides, no other batsmen could make significant contribution to Nepal’s run chase. Dan D’Souza took four wickets and Saurabhkant Gir claimed two to leave Nepal way short of the winning total.

Earlier, the UAE had a wobbly start losing three wickets in 6.3 overs with just 32 runs on board. However, man of the match Chopra shared a massive 171-run fourth wicket partnership with Dan D’Souza (58) that not only repaired the early damage but also placed the Gulf side in a strong position to win the match. D’Souza who played an anchor role faced 105 balls and hit two fours.

Nepal’s Avinash Karna took three wickets, Karki, Sushant Bhari, Yagyaman Kumal and Nischal Pandey all took one wicket apiece.

Nepal will take on Malaysia on Saturday in the third place play-off. Nepal had defeated Malaysia by seven wickets on Wednesday in their last group stage match. Afghanistan defeated Malaysia by massive 140 runs on Friday. Afghanistan put on 233/8 in 50 overs and bowled out Malaysia for 93 runs in 45 overs. Afghanistan and the UAE will clash for the title on Saturday.

Nepal had clinched the ACC U-19 Elite Cup in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 while it had finished runner-up in 1999 and 2011.

Prime Life Insurance awarded Nepali national cricket team on Friday for winning the World Cricket League Division 3 title.

Founding Chairman of Prime Life Rajendra Khetan and CEO Resta Jha handed over a cheque of Rs 500,000 to team Captain Paras Khadka and Manager Tarani Bikram Shah amidst a program in the capital.

Khadka thanked the insurance company for setting an example to corporate sector by rewarding cricketers. “Playing both T20 and One-Day World Cup is our dream and only the effort of we players would not be enough to fulfil it. We need support from every sector. Let’s all come together and together we can,” said Khadka.

Earlier, Prime Life Insurance had appointed cricketer Sharad Vesawkar as its brand ambassador. Khadka mentioned it and said the company has set an example for the other corporate houses.

Founding Chairman of Prime Life, Rajendra Khetan, termed the success achieved in Division 3 as historical success of Nepali cricket. He gave best wishes for the World Cup Qualifiers and vowed to support cricketers in future also.

Prime Life CEO, Jha, said the felicitation was a small gesture from corporate side to the national team to reward its success. “The entire corporate sector should stand tall to support Nepali cricket,” said Jha.

Former captain of national cricket team, Pawan Agrawal, termed the winning streak of Nepali cricket team at the international level as a golden journey of Nepali cricket. He also thanked Prime Life for its unconditional support to the Nepali cricket and cricketers.

Nepali national cricket team, which lifted the titles of Division 4 and ACC Elite Trophy last year, defeated Uganda in the final of the Division 3 on Sunday in Bermuda and qualified for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers to be held in New Zealand in January, 2014.

ICC World Cricket League Division 3 champion Nepali national team received a warm welcome upon its arrival back home on Wednesday.

Hundreds of cricket fan reached TribhuwanInternationalAirport and joined four-hour long victory parade chanting slogans to celebrate the highest achievement of Nepali cricket so far.

Youth and Sports Ministry and National Sports Council (NSC) organized a program to felicitate the team at the NSC premises after the parade. Youth and Sports Minister Ram Kumar Shrestha, Secretary at the Ministry Hari Prasad Nepal, NSC Vice President Pitambar Timalsina and Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama offered tika, garlands and letter of appreciation to the team.

Chairman of Council of Minister, Khilaraj Regmi, called on the players at the Prime Minister’s Office, Singh Durbar in the afternoon and felicitated the national heroes. During the program, Regmi informed cricketers that government has already decided to reward the cricketers with Rs 3,50,000 each.

Meanwhile, UCPN (Maoist) and its Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal felicitated cricketers at the party headquarters at Peris Danda with cash reward of Rs 25,000 each from the party fund.

Nepali team lifted the Division 3 trophy beating Uganda by five wickets in the final on Sunday. Nepali team arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday at 9:30 AM.

Skipper speaks

Nepali skipper Paras Khadka said that the team was overwhelmed by the public reception. He also urged authorities to put coordinated effort to develop cricket to prepare for the World Cup Qualifiers. “We are playing both World T20 Qualifiers and World Cup Qualifiers in next eight months. We should start preparation from now. It’s high time to invest on cricket,” said skipper Khadka.

“We’ll not get better opportunities than this. We players are ready to work hard and authorities should support us,” he added.

Khadka credited coach Pubudu Dassanayake behind the success. Dassanayake did not come with the team as he went to Canada to meet his family.

Authorities vow to support

Chairman of the Council of Minister Regmi congratulated Nepali teams and vowed to support cricket development programs from the government side.  “Whatever the players have achieved at the international level despite having only limited facilities is invaluable,” said Regmi.  “It’s high time to develop infrastructures for cricket and to make cricket professional, where a players can live only by playing cricket,” added Regmi. He suggested Youth and Sports Ministry, NSC and Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) to come up with concreate programs.

He also asked CAN to start preparation for the World Cup Qualifiers scheduled to be held in New Zealand in January 2014. “The government will consider all the positive plans and programs initiated by NSC and the association seriously and provide full support to execute them,” said Regmi.

Earlier, Youth and Sports Minister Shrestha vowed to construct a cricket stadium of international standard at Mulpani, Kathmandu while NSC Member Secretary Lama said that the council would lobby for the construction of the stadium.

CAN President Tanka Aangbuhang requested government to keep cricket in the high priority. “We would be soon known as a cricketing nation but what we need is support from government,” said Aangbuhang.

Meanwhile, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Dahal said that he would discuss recent success of Nepali cricket within the high-level political committee and suggest government to support cricket in infrastructure development and preparation for the qualifiers.

No time for lunch

Following long journey from Bermuda to Kathmandu with three transits, Nepali cricketers were tired and sleepless. Felicitation programs one after another made them feel more tired.

Because of the tight schedule of programs, they did not get chance to have lunch. The CAN even failed to manage lunch packets for them. “It’s difficult to listen authorities and leaders with empty stomach though they are talking positives,” a cricketer commented.

Nepal thrashed Malaysia by seven wickets on Wednesday in its last group-stage match of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup to top Group B and set up a semifinal clash with the UAE.

Host Malaysia elected to bat at the Kinrara Oval, Kuala Lumpur but was all out for a meager 69 runs in 22.4 overs as Nepali pacer Avinash Karn continued his impressive form in the tournament claiming six wickets.

In reply, Nepal reached the target in 24.4 overs losing only three wickets as Harishankar Shah scored an unbeaten 28 runs off 42 balls.

Avinash Karna (R) receives man-of-the-match trophy from Malaysia coach Roy Luke Dias. Roy was the coach of Nepali national team for nine years until November, 2010. (Photo Courtesy: BIKRAM GIRI

Man-of-the-match Karn, who had taken eight wickets including a hat-trick against Bahrain on Monday, rattled Malaysia and took his wickets tally to 19 in the tournament.

He is the leading wicket taker of the tournament. Among Nepali U-19 bowlers, Rahul Vishwakarma has the record of taking 21 wickets in a single tournament.

Vishwakarma, a national team player, had taken 21 wickets during the ACC U-19 Elite Cup 2011 and the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers 2011.

Nepali skipper Bhuwan Karki took two wickets while Yagyaman Kumal and Sushant Bhari claimed a wicket each to bundle out Malaysia.

Dhivendran Mogan (unbeaten 22 runs off 28 balls) was the highest scorer for Malaysia while Amiruddin Azahar contributed 15 runs off 23 balls. The 25-run partnership between Mogan and Pavandeep Singh (5 runs) for the 10th wicket was the highest of the Malaysian innings.

Nepal made a shaky start to the run chase as openers Nischal Pandey (7) and Amit Shrestha (10) were dismissed cheaply. However, Shah anchored the Nepali innings and shared a 42-run partnership for the third wicket with Bibhatsu Thapa (17 runs off 44 balls). Nirmal Thapa remained unbeaten on three runs to seal a comfortable victory. Pavandeep Singh, Varun Nadesh and Kogilan Muthu claimed a wicket each for Malaysia.

Nepal topped Group B winning all its group-stage matches and will meet Group A runner-up UAE on Friday in the semifinal. Meanwhile, Malaysia will take on Group A winner Afghanistan in another semifinal the same day.

Left-arm medium pacer Avinash Karn grabbed eight wickets including a hat-trick to knock down hapless Bahrain by 196 runs at the Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur on Monday to guide Nepal to the semifinals of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup.

Batting first after winning the toss, Nepal team posted 259/9 in the allotted 50 overs.

Vice-captain of the Nepali side, Karn rattled Bahrain chase for 260 as he took four wickets in his second over, including a hat-trick in last three balls. Karn finished with eight wickets, without needing any assistance from fielders. Four of his wickets were bowled, while other four were trapped lbw.

Karn became the first Nepali bowler to complete hat-trick at the age group tournaments of international level. In over-all, he became the second Nepali bowler to complete hat-trick at the international level. Earlier, Shakti Gauchan had taken hat-trick against Denmark in ICC World T20 Qualifiers held in the UAE last year.

Karn claimed the first wicket in the second ball of the third over of the innings as he trapped lbw to Ikram Nadeem. He gave away a run in the third ball and then completed the hat-trick in the last three balls of the over. He trapped lbw to Adeel Nasir in the fourth ball, bowled Jayan Anandhakrishnan and again trapped Ubaid Minhas lbw to complete hat-trick.

Karn’s bowling figure of 8-2-24-8 is the second best bowling figure of Nepali bowlers in the U-19 age group. Rahul Viswakarma’s bowling figure of 6.5-0-15-8 against Thailand in the last edition of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup is the best bowling figure of the Nepali bowlers in the age group.

Karn was adjudged man-of-the-match for his magical bowling performance.

Five of the Bahrain batsmen returned to pavilion without scoring, while only two reached double figures. Akshay Krisha, with 22, was the highest scorer for Bahrain, as Lasith Lal made 17. Captain Bhuwan Karki and Rahul Pratap Singh had claimed a wicket each.

Earlier, Nepal innings had not started too well as it had lost its first wicket in 28 runs. Captain Bhuwan Karki was the highest scorer for Nepal, with 83 off 63 balls, which included eight boundaries and three sixes. Bibhatsu Thapa scored 44, as Nirmal Thapa put up 25.

Openers Ameet Shrestha (22 runs off 12 balls) and Nischal Pandey (16 runs off 40 balls) were the other major contributors for Nepal. Bahrain bowled 32 extras. Lalith Lal was the peak of the Bahrain bowler as he picked three wickets while Anandhakrishnan and Adeel Nasir claimed two wickets each.

Nepal’s score was pushed to more than five an over, due to some quick scoring towards the end. Last five overs saw Nepali colts scoring just over 50 runs.

Following the 84-run victory over Kuwait and nine-wicket win over Qatar in the first two matches, the convincing victory over Bahrain has secured semifinal berth for Nepal from the group B of the tournament. In the group of five teams, Nepal and Malaysia have equal six points from three matches. However, Nepal is on the top of the table with better net run rate. Kuwait is on the third place with two points from three matches. Bahrain and Qatar are yet to open their account.

Nepal and Malaysia will lock horns on Wednesday to decide the winner of the group.

Nepal with the WCL Div 3 Trophy! Photo: ICC

Nepal achieved the biggest success in its cricket history on Sunday when it lifted the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 title in Bermuda.

The five-wicket victory over Uganda in the final – thanks to half-centuries by Pradeep Airee and Sharad Vesawkar after a tight bowling performance – will go down in history books as one of the most amazing victory Nepal has achieved so far.

Chasing 151 for the title against a team that had earlier in the league round bowled Nepal out for mere 116, Nepal knocked the required runs with more than 10 overs remaining – the four by Sharad in second ball of 40th over ensured his half-century and the win.

As both the finalists have already been promoted to Division 2 and the World Cup 2015 Qualifiers to be held in New Zealand next year, the final was match was an issue of pride where Nepal prevailed.

USA beat Bermuda – something that if they had done a day earlier would have put Nepal fighting for the third-place playoff – to take third position and remain in Division 3. Oman overcome Italy in the battle of relegated teams.

At the National Stadium Hamilton, Uganda won the toss and elected to bat but was pushed on back foot by some tight bowling. Nepal made no change in the squad that had thrashed Italy a day earlier, meaning the specialist pacers were not included and captain Paras Khadka opened the bowling.

After bowling a couple of tight overs, Paras got opener Kyobe. They batted at a very slow pace hitting 18 runs in 10 overs. They didn’t accelerate until a last few overs and were constantly put under pressure by frequent wickets.

Their best over was the last bowled by Sanjam Regmi in which they hit 19 runs with a couple of sixes and a four.

Basant Regmi and Rahul Vishwakarma each grabbed a couple of wickets while Shakti Gauchan and Prithu Baskota also claimed one each.

Some fun! Photo: ICC

In reply, Nepal didn’t begin well losing early three key wickets – Subash Khakurel (4), Gyanendra Malla (5) and Paras Khadka (1) were all out early making it 30/3 in 11th over.

Pradeep and Sharad then rescued Nepal’s innings with a patient batting and added 77 runs to take Nepal out of the danger. Pradeep was out with 60 off 95 balls.

Binod Bhandari hit a four and was out for 5 making it 113/5 in 31st over. Young Prithu Baskota and Sharad then added required runs without further damage. Prithu hit 24 off 19 balls.

Surrounded by a small group of jubilant fans, elated Nepal captain Paras Khadka said the win was unbelievable.

“We worked really hard for it. And having lost the first couple of games no one gave us an outright chance but we still believed in ourselves and our ability. Everything worked in our favor and, as they say, fortune favors the brave. I feel glad. We have reached where we always wanted to, and now it is a matter of preparing ourselves even better. If we prepare really well, things are looking in good shape for us.”

With the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier only eight months away, the skipper says his side will remain focused. “Before the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, we have the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in November in Dubai and that’s an equally important tournament.

“I think preparation-wise, we have to have a strategic plan from now on because it is a big step – one more step and you are in the ICC Cricket World Cup. So we have to think in that perspective and hopefully, if we can get things right back home, and play against good teams and quality opponents, that’s how you develop as a player and prepare.”

Disappointed Uganda captain Davis Arinaitwe was still proud of his side’s achievements. “Qualifying for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was our primary objective when we got here, we first put our sights on trying to qualify for that tournament, so I felt that for us, that is an achievement that we can take back home.

“Ideally, I would have liked to finish the tournament on a high and pick up the final trophy of the whole tournament, and leave this beautiful island as WCL winners. But on this day I thought we were not lucky in the field. I thought the Nepal batsmen batted pretty well.”

Avinash Karn’s fierce bowling and Amit Shrestha’s blistering 70 runs off 33 balls against Qatar on Sunday sealed second consecutive victory for Nepali U-19 cricket team in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup. Nepal convincingly beat Qatar by 9 wickets at the Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

Qatar won the toss and elected to bat first. Nepal bundled out Qatar for 93 runs in 36.3 overs as Karn claimed four wickets. He bowled 7.3 overs and gave away 26 runs to claim four wickets. Likewise, Sushant Bhari claimed two wickets with a bowling figure of 6-3-11-2. Skipper Bhuwan Karki and Nischal Pandey dismissed a batsman each. Two of the Qatar batsmen were run out.

Uzair Amir (24 runs off 67 balls) was the highest scorer for Qatar. Abdullah Mohammad (16 runs off 36 balls), Syed Safwan Shah (14 runs off 19 balls) and Jahangir Ehsan (12 runs off 7 balls) were the other major contributors for Qatar.

Chasing the low total, Nepal reached 94/1 in 10.5 overs. Shrestha put up a 56-run opening partnership with Nischal Pandey (12 runs off 26 balls). Shrestha, then, put up an unbeaten 38-run partnership with Harishankar Shah (8 runs off 7 balls) to seal the match. Shrestha clobbered 11 boundaries and a six to score 70 runs.

Nepali vice-captain Karn was adjudged man-of-the-match for his magical bowling performance.

Nepal had defeated Kuwait by 84 runs on Friday in its first match of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup. Nepal will take on Bahrain in the third group-stage match on Monday.

Nepal secured promotion to the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014 along with Uganda after their final group matches of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 3 in Bermuda on Saturday night.

On a day when three teams had a chance to claim the vital second position on the table, Nepal defeated Italy by eight wickets and Bermuda defeated USA by five wickets, resulting in Nepal overtaking USA on the points table based on net run rate.

In the day’s third match, Uganda, which was already guaranteed a position in both the tournament final and the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014 after defeating USA on Thursday, lost to Oman by seven wickets.

In the most anticipated match of the day, it was a case of saving the best for last as host Bermuda defeated USA by five wickets at the National Sports Stadium.

USA needed to win the match to guarantee a top two finish, while Bermuda needed to win the encounter to avoid the possibility of being relegated if Oman won its match against Uganda.

Rahul Viswakarma receives man-of-the-match trophy. (Photo: Raman Siwakoti/ CAN)

USA won the toss and elected to bat. USA posted 220 for nine from its fifty overs, setting a run rate of almost 4.50 to the host for victory. In reply, Bermuda went for the boundaries to secure a win as quickly as possible. Left-hander Chris Douglas survived three dropped catches to blast 89 from 75 balls, including three sixes and nine fours, to set the foundation. Bermuda reached its target of 221 in the 45th over, for the loss of five wickets.

Earlier, Nepal defeated Italy by eight wickets at St. David’s Cricket Club to secure a spot in Sunday’s final, as well as a position in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014.

Sitting third on the ladder after four rounds, Nepal needed a convincing victory to try and knock USA out of second position.  Chasing 128 for victory after restricting the European side to 127 from its 50 overs, openers Subash Khakurel and Pradeep Airee wasted no time, putting on an 87-run partnership from 12 overs.  Captain Paras Khadka smashed 22 from only 8 balls, while Gyanendra Malla struck two shots – one six and one four – to still be at the crease alongside Airee (42 not out) when the side reached 129, and victory, in the 15th over.  Luis Di Giglio and Fida Hussain took one wicket apiece.

Italy had started slowly, with openers Hayden Patrizi (4) and Andrew Northcote (10) patiently facing down the fierce Nepal bowling attack to set the foundation.  Stalwarts Peter Petricola (31) and Carl Sandri (39) increased the run rate, but a decisive three-wicket haul by Rahul Vishwakarma tore through the vital middle order, and Italy was struggling at 108 for six in the 37th over.  While no other batsmen made significant contributions, Italy batted out its innings for the first time in the tournament, scoring 127 for nine.  Sanjam Regmi captured three for 32, but it was Vishwakarma’s three for 28 that was adjudged the man of the match performance.

Nepal skipper Khadka was pleased that his side’s hard work has paid off with a top two finish.  “We had to make sure that we put down a good run rate.  Pressure is always there, after having lost both the first two games so we had to step it up.  Hats off to the boys for having played so well and for their determination.  We had to wait for the results of the other matches, and then it happened for us.  They say that when you work hard, things and luck work for you.  That’s what we believe in and it worked for us.”

Having chased down the total in the 15th over, Khadka admits that the wait to hear the results of the day’s remaining matches was not easy.  “It was a nervous wait for the other results.  After we finished we had to wait about two hours, but thank god we hung in there and it worked for us.”

Nepal now faces Uganda in the final, after losing to the number one side on the second day by six wickets.  The skipper believes that his side has improved since Monday, and will be focused on winning tomorrow. “We’ll think positive and forget what happened.  It was good that we were playing as a team today.   The momentum is back and we just need to continue the momentum.  Like I’ve said before, if we play to our potential, the results will be pretty good.”

Points table after round five:

Shakti Gauchan becomes the second Nepali bowler to grab 100 wickets in international one-day matches.

He achieved the milestone when Italian Munasinghe was trapped leg-before in the final league match of the World Cricket League Division 3 at St. Davids, Bermuda. Nepal won the match by 8 wickets in 14.5 overs after bowling out Italy for 127 runs – Shakti returning with splendid figure of 10-2-15-2.

He is only second to Mehboob Alam who achieved 100 wickets in 63 games. Shakti needed 77 games – the most by any Nepali players.

All-rounder Shakti is also the first Nepali player to score 1,000 runs in international one-dayers.

In WCL Div 3, Shakti has struggled as bowler. He has so far only been able to get five wickets and also became the most expensive Nepali bowler when he gave away 81 runs in 9 overs against USA in the first match despite being known for his economic bowling.

Shakti debuted against Oman in 2002 ACC Trophy in Singapore and also saw himself pushed out of the national team in 2010. Last year, he made a spectacular comeback with a spot in T20 team and completed a hat-trick against Denmark – the first for Nepali bowler in T20 WC Qualifiers.

Following Sushant Bhari’s all-round performance, Yagyaman Kumal’s magical bowling spell and anchoring knock of Amit Shrestha, Nepal started the ACC U-19 Elite Cup campaign on a winning note registering an 84-run victory over Kuwait on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  The victory maintained Nepal’s winning streak against Kuwait in the age group.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first at Kinrara Oval, Nepal were all out for 193 in 43 overs but returned to bowled out Kuwait for 109 in 36.2 overs, securing an easy win.

Openers Nischal Pandey (10 runs off 15 balls) and Amit Shrestha put up a 20-run partnership. Pandey was bowled by Shahrukh Quddus in the fourth ball of the fourth over. However, Shrestha and Harishankar Shah put up a 69-run partnership for the second wicket. Shrestha scored 46 runs off 52 balls including seven boundaries.

Nepal then suffered a mini-collapse as Captain Bhuwan Karki (0), Nirmal Thapa (1), Shah (23) and Prem Tamang (6) lost their wickets one after another. Avinash Karn (3 runs off 17 balls) and put up a 21-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Pawan Shrestha, who added 23 runs off 23 balls before Ali Zaheer bowled him out.

Nepal was at 126/8 in 28.2 overs but Sushant Bhari (28 runs off 33 balls) and Irshad Ahmed put on 40-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Ahmed remained unbeaten with 18 runs off 40 balls and also put up a 27-run partnership for the last wicket with Kumal (9).

Abdul Jabbar was the pick of Kuwait bowlers, taking four wickets, while Shahrukh Quddus and Ali Zaheer accounted for two Nepali scalps each. Fazlur Rahman and Mohammed Meezan Ali grabbed a wicket each. Kuwait bowlers gave away 26 runs from extras.

Defending the total, Kumal took three wickets and Bhari grabbed two to restrict Kuwait to way short of the winning target. Abhinash Karn, Bhuwan Karki and Nischal Pandey shared the remaining three wickets among them while two of the Kuwait batsmen were run out.

Kumal, the first cricketer from remote Achham district to play for any national squad, kept his first over a wicket-maiden and then claimed two wickets in his next over giving away only a run. His magical spell gave an early blow to Kuwait and the Arab team did not get chance to consolidate innings. Kumal’s bowling figure in the match was 9-1-16-3.

For the losing side, No 10 Shahrukh Quddus top scored with a cameo of 36 off 32, including a four and three sixes. Batting at No 4, Faizaan Siddiq scored 21 runs off 67 balls and No 9 Mohammed MuKadam added 11 runs. Besides, no other Kuwait batsmen could score in double figures.

Nepal’s Bhari was adjudged man of the match for his all-round performance. Nepal will next take on Qatar on Sunday.

Nepal U-19 – 193 (43 overs)

Batting

Nischal Pandey -10 (15)

Amit Shrestha -46 (52)

Harishakar Shah 23 (54)

Pawan Shrestha-23 (23)

Sushant Bhari -28 (33)

Irshad Ahmed -18 (40)

Bowling

Abdul Jabar – 4 wkts

Shahrukh Quddus -2 wkts

Ali zaheer -2wkts

Kuwait U-19 – 109 (36.2 overs)

Batting

Faizaan Sidiq -21 (67)

Mohammed Mukadam – 11 (30)

Shahrukh Quddus – 36* (32)

Bowling

Yagyaman Kumal – 9-1-15-3

Sushant Bhari – 10-1-20-2

Avinash Karn – 6-1-23-1

Bhuwan Karki – 6-1-30-1

Nischal Pandey -2-0-9-1

(Two of the Kuwait batsmen were run out)

Nepal wins the match by 84 runs

(Pls wait for report)

Nepal overcame the Oman bowling attack to achieve its second victory of the ICC World Cricket League Division 3, defeating Oman by 28 runs at the National Sports Stadium in Bermuda.

Sent into bat, Nepal overcame the loss of two early wickets to post 160 from its 50 overs.  Gyanendra Malla (34), captain Paras Khadka (28), Sharad Vesawkar (27) and Binod Bhandari (35) brought the score to 146 for seven, but the Oman bowling attack smothered the tail end, who only managed to add eight runs for the last three wickets.

Munis Ansari was the pick of the Oman bowlers, taking three for 27, while Lalcheta picked up two.

Oman captain Vaibhav Wategaonkar (27) again led the run chase, while Ajay Lalchata (24) and Sultan Ahmed (19) contributed patient knocks. However, the skipper’s return to the pavilion sparked a batting collapse, with the loss of four wickets in four overs leaving Oman balanced precariously at 118 for eight.  Thirty-nine year old Hemal Metha added 10 runs before Oman was dismissed for 132 runs.  Basant Regmi and Sanjam Regmi took two wickets apiece, while teammate Malla was adjudged man of the match.

Gyanendra Malla receives Man of the Match award

Nepal’s skipper was pleased with his team’s performance on a tough wicket.  “We were 20 – 25 runs short, looking at the wicket, but the wicket was not that easy.  With our bowling attack though, we thought 160 was defendable,” said Khatdka

Khadka remained positive for Nepal’s final group match, which will be against Italy.  “We still have one more game to go, and if results fall in our favor, we still have a slight chance of making it to the next round. So fingers crossed that everything goes well, and we should be doing ok,” he added.

Oman captain Vaibhav Wategaonkar felt his team let chances slip through its fingers. “It was an achievable target, but again the same thing has happened – we didn’t bat well.  The batsmen were struggling to get the runs,” he said.

Nepal now moves to third on the ladder, while Oman drops to fifth.

Uganda qualifies

Meanwhile, Uganda remained undefeated in the tournament and secured a position in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014, as well as Sunday’s final, after defeating USA by 82 runs at St David’s Ground.

In a clash of the two leading teams of the tournament, Uganda elected to bat and set a slow and steady pace to reach 175.  In response, USA struggled to build any lasting partnerships, and USA was all out for 93 in forty overs.

Uganda now moves above the USA to lead the competition, and is assured of a spot in Sunday’s final, as well as a position in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014.

In other matches, host Bermuda defeated Italy by 60 runs at Somerset CC to record its second victory of the tournament.

Points table after round four:

Nepali U-19 cricket team will take on Kuwait on Friday in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup to be held in Malaysia from Friday to May 11. Nepal U-19, which hopes to win the tournament and qualify to the ICC U-19 World Cup, expect to build momentum from the very first match.

Nepali U-19 team led by coach Jagat Tamata and captain Bhuwan Karki includes experienced players like Avinash Karn, Ram Naresh Giri, Rahul Pratap Singh and Nishchal Pandey along with captain Karki. Karki, Karn and Giri were the part of Nepali U-19 team that played the ICC U-19 World Cup held in Australia in 2012. Singh was the member of Nepali U-19 team that finished second in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup 2011 held in Thailand while Pandey was the member of the team that finished second in the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers 2011 held in Ireland.

“The team is mentally and physically tough and ready to take challenges,” said coach Tamata.

“There are no big names and popular players in the team. There are average players but they are ready to take the charge,” said Tamata. “Captain Bhuwan (Karki) will spearhead spin bowling while Avinash (Karn) will lead the pace attack. We have batsman like Amit Shrestha in the team. We have to put up around 200 runs on the board in every match to win and we are prepared for it,” he added.

He said that the only aim of the team is to win the tournament and qualify for the World Cup.

Skipper Karki described the tournament as an opportunity and a challenge for him as a captain. “We have new talents in the team but we are ready to take every challenge. Our aim is not less than to qualify for the U-19 World Cup,” said Karki.

The winner of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup will progress to U-19 World Cup 2014. If the UAE reaches the final of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup, the other finalist will progress to the World Cup, as the Arab nation is pre-qualified as the host of the 2014 tournament.

Nepal is slatted in group-B of the tournament along side Qatar, Bahrain, Malaysia and Kuwait. Nepal will take on Kuwait on May 3 in its first match of the tournament and lock horns with Qatar on May 5. Nepal will clash with Bahrain on May 6 before playing the final group stage match against Malaysia on May 8.

Nepal had won the ACC U-19 Elite Cup in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 while it had finished as runner-up in 1999 and 2011. Afghanistan had defeated Nepal in the final of the last edition held in Thailand in 2011.

Skipper Paras Khadka shone with both bat and ball to give Nepal a much-needed win in its third match of ICC World Cricket League Division Three against host Bermuda at St David’s Cricket Club, Wednesday night.

Winning the toss and electing to field first, Nepal skitteld the home team for a meager 106 in 38.2 overs, with Khadka claiming four crucial wickets. In reply, Nepal raced to the winning target of 107, losing two wickets in just 11.2 overs, handing Bermuda an eight-wicket defeat.

In Nepal’s run chase, Khadka smashed a fiery 46 off 27 balls, including four boundaries and three sixes, in a 72-run unbroken third wicket stand with his deputy Gyanendra Malla, who hit 34 off 20 balls, with five fours and a six.

Openers Subash Khakurel (6) and Anil Mandal (16) were the two wickets that Nepal lost. Both of them fell to Bermuda bowler Rodney Trott.

For Bermuda, Steven Outerbridge top scored with 29, while David Hemp made 16. Curt stovel and Malachi Jones made equal 15 runs, whereas Chris Douglas contributed 12 runs. Besides, no other batsmen could make it to the double digits.

The host had a mediocre start and was once in a good position with 73 runs on board with just two wickets down, before losing the remaining eight wickets for another 33 runs.

Apart from Khadka, Basanta Regmi took three wickets to restrict the Caribbean nation to a low score. Chandra Saud, Sanjam Regmi and Shakti Gauchan took one wicket each. Khadka was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant all-round performance.

Nepal was in a must-win situation in the match after it had suffered a 94-run defeat at hands of the USA in the opening match and losing its second match to Uganda by six wickets.

“We were due for it.  It was sad that we could not live up to our potential in the first two games, but anyway, we picked up in this game.  We still have a long way to go, a couple more games, so we just need to go there and win convincingly,” said Nepali captain Khadka.

With two matches left in the group stage, Khadka believes his team will keep on improving. “It’s still not the end of the tournament for us. We still have two games to look forward to. We will take it one game at a time.  We will go out there and go for the win.  There is no alternative for us,” said Khadka.

Upon the completion of the league, the top two sides will advance to Division 2, which also means the teams will be eligible for 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, while the bottom two teams will face relegation to Division 4. Considering the current standing, Nepal has only a slim and mathematical prospect for qualification.

The USA and Uganda, which are undefeated in the first three matches, are on top two positions respectively.

Oman, Nepal and host Bermuda, all of whom suffered two losses and secured a win each, have equal two points. Oman is placed third, Nepal the fourth and host Bermuda the fifth based on net run rate. Win-less Italy is at the bottom on the points table.

Nepal lost its first match of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 against the USA by massive 94 runs on Sunday night as the American wicketkeeper batsman Steven Taylor played a blistering knock of 162 runs off 102 balls.

Winning the toss, Nepal invited the USA to bat first at the Somerset Cricket Club in Bermuda but went on to concede a massive 366 for six in maximum 50 overs. In reply, Nepal was all out for 272 with one ball remaining in the innings.

USA got off to a flying start as openers Steven Taylor and Orlando Baker put up a 125-run partnership within 17.2 overs. While Baker scored a patient 37 runs off 56 balls, Taylor brought up his century off 61 balls, and then picked up the pace.

Florida-born Taylor wasted no time in finding the boundaries, demonstrating why he was the top run scorer in the recent ICC Americas Division 1 Championship. Taylor clobbered 12 boundaries and 12 sixes.

Nepal finally got the breakthrough it was looking as Basant Regmi caught Taylor off Sanjam Regmi in the second ball of the 35th over. USA was 234/3 in 35 overs.  Following Taylor’s departure, USA lost wickets regularly, but the Nepal bowlers were not able to smother the run rate.  A hard-hitting 67 not out by Timroy Allen helped the USA reach its formidable total of 366 for six.

Sushil Nadkarni (28) and Neil McGarrel (22) put up important cameo role in the USA innings.

Hapless Nepali bowlers were punished being hit all around the field, with all of them having economy rate above 7 except Basanta Regmi, whose bowling figures were 10-0-46-2 with 4.6 economy rate.

Besides, Amrit Bhattarai, spinners Sanjam Regmi and Shakti Gauchan took one wicket apiece. USA batsmen hit 25 fours and 22 sixes, combined. Nepal conceded 21 runs as extras.

Required to score a mammoth 367 runs for win, Nepal never looked in the hunt as it lost opener Anil Mandal for duck in second over and another opener Subash Khakurel (23) in the eighth over.

Nepal lost Gyanendra Malla (9), Binod Bhandari (4) and Pradeep Airee (14) cheaply, with half of its batting lineup eliminated for just 106 runs in the 24th over. Skipper Paras Khadka and Sharad Vesawkar shared a 69-run sixth wicket partnership, the highest in Nepali innings.

Khadka was caught by wicketkeeper Taylor for 73, including nine fours and two sixes.  Vesawkar continued the batting offensive, and survived a miss-field by Neil McGarrell to score 72 from 61 balls. Vesawkar shot four boundaries and six sixes.

The tail end continued the run chase and Shakti Gauchan added 39 before being caught on the penultimate delivery of the match, to leave Nepal all out for 272 in 49.5 overs.

Veteran McGarrell, who had played four Test and 17 One-Day matches for West Indies in the past, was the pick of the USA bowlers with three for 42. Elmore Hutchingson and Muhammad Ghous claimed two wickets each while Barrington Bartley grabbed one wicket. Sanjam Regmi and Gyanendra Malla were short to the crease. Basanta Regmi made 7, Sanjam Regmi 14 while Amrit Bhattarai remained not out, without scoring.

Taylor’s knock of 162 was adjudged to be the man-of-the-match performance.

USA skipper Steve Massiah was elated with the result. “We are very pleased with the performance.  I thought that it was important that, playing against Nepal who we’ve had many close encounters with over the years and we’ve shared matches with – it’s good to come away with a win.  Moving forward, it’s important that we continue the momentum,” said Massiah to ICC media.

“Initially we didn’t plan to make 366, but we’ll take it!  I thought it was an incredible performance by young Steven Taylor to score 162.  That was amazing batting, and it’s not batting that you see every day, so with that and some other brilliant performances, everyone chipping in, it just goes to show the depth of our team,” he continued.

Man of the Match Taylor, who became the first USA batsman to score a century in Twenty20 cricket at the ICC Americas Division 1 Championship earlier this year, was pleased that his performance. “It was really fun, because after playing against these guys in Malaysia in Division 4 last year, it felt good to come back and give them a real hitting.  They beat us twice in Malaysia,” said Taylor.

Nepal captain Paras Khadka was disappointed with the result, despite his side scoring a very respectable total of 272. “As a team, maybe we gave 40 runs more to USA.  If it had been 300 or 330, maybe it would have been at par.  But when a guy gets 162, it’s just one of those days when you cannot do anything,” said Khadka.

“We were disappointed.  Maybe a bigger ground would have made a difference, but Taylor batted extremely well, and I think that is one of the best innings we’ve encountered as a team.  The bowlers had a really tough time, from both the teams.  But this is the start of the tournament, so we need to take all the positives and move ahead.  In the World Cricket League, every match is equally important, and you cannot make excuses.  You’ve got to adapt and adjust your game accordingly, and your focus has got to be there,” he added.

In other matches, Uganda beat host Bermuda by 114 runs whereas Oman humiliated Italy by seven wickets.