Cricket Nepal (Archive)

The Pepsi Standard Chartered National One-Day Cricket Tournament will begin on December 11, Tuesday with nine teams, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced.

The cricket team of Armed Police Force will be joined by 8 regional teams for the tournament in Kathmandu. CAN said that the Twenty20 National Cricket League will be begin on December 23.

The One-Day Cricket Tournament will be played at two grounds and matches will commence at 8:45 am to accommodate full quota of overs on winter days.

Nepal Police Club (NPC), the runner-up of the last edition, is not participating in the upcoming tournament.

According to CAN, winner of the tournament will receive Rs 150,000 and runner-up will bag Rs 100,000. Likewise, man-of-the-series will get Rs 20,000, while the best batsman and the best bowler of the tournament will get Rs 10,000 each.

CAN official said that they would call players for the closed camp training right after the T20 tournament to prepare for the upcoming ACC T20 Cup.

“The national tournaments would be a basis for the players´ selection. We will pick 24 to 30 cricketers from the tournaments to prepare for the ACC T20 Cup and World Cricket League Division 3,” said Ashok Nath Pyakuryal, the general secretary of CAN.

Nepal is to host the ACC T20 Cup in Kathmandu in the last week of March after which the national cricket team will visit Bermuda for the World Cricket League Division 3 to be held from April 28 to May 5.

Group A: APF Club, Region No. 6, Baitadi, Region No. 8, Pokhara, Region No. 1, Biratnagar, Region No. 4 Bhairahawa
Group B: Region No. 7, Janakpur, Region No. 3, Kathmandu, Region No. 5, Nepalgunj, Region No. 2, Birgunj

Fixture

Army School, Bhaktapur and Galaxy Public School,Kathmandu secured semifinal berths in the Wai Wai Indo-Nepal U-16 T20 Cricket Tournament on Thursday.

Army School thrashed TCA Kerala by 132 runs while Galaxy edged past Tribhuvan Aadarsha School, Pharping by 100 runs to enter into the semifinals.

Army school elected to bat and put up 224/4 in 20 overs as man-of-the-match Kiran Shrestha scored 54 runs off 41 balls at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur. Abishek Poudel (43 runs) and Niroj Shrestha (41 runs) were the other major contributors forArmySchool.

In reply, TCA Kerala was all out for 92 runs in 19.2 overs. Mobin Mohan (33 runs) was the highest scorer for the visiting team. Gunjan Yadav took three wickets for Army School while Suman Kunwar claimed two wickets.

Likewise, Galaxy elected to bat and put up 141/7 in 20 overs. Aman Jain scored 36 runs and Pratik Raj Bhandari added 32 runs for Galaxy.

In reply, Tribhuvan Aadarsha was all out for 41 runs in 9.5 overs. Nabin Shrestha (13 runs) was the only batsman of Tribhuvan Aadarsha to reach double-digit score. Man-of-the-match Aakash Bista took three wickets while Pratik Raj Bhandari and Bamdev Jagari claimed two wickets each.

Meanwhile, Glacier School, Kathmandu beat Rajan Memorial International School by seven wickets in a group stage match. Both the teams were already out of the tournament. Glacier bowled out Rajan Memorial at 73 runs in 19.4 overs and met the target in 9.1 overs losing three wickets.

Wai Wai Indo-Nepal U-16 Cricket Tournament is all set to kick off in Kathmandu on November 20.

Eight schools of Nepal and four teams from India will participate in the event.

The winner of the event, on November 24’s final, will take home a cash prize of Rs. 80,000 while the runners-up get the cheque of Rs. 40,000.

BSAM Ground in Bhaktapur will host group stage matches whereas semifinals and final will be held at IOE Ground, Lalitpur, according to hosts Greenland Children’s Academy.

According to Binod Raj Rajbhandari, former member of Cricket Association of Nepal, the event wills erve as a talent hunt event. “Cricket cannot develop unless we give attention to the grassroots level,” he said.

Participating Indian schools are Punjab Public School, CGHS Gwaliar, SBV Kolkata and TCA Kerala.

Organizers GCA, Tribhuvan Adarsha of Pharping, Galaxy Public School, Glacier Secondary School, Rajan Memorial School, DAV Jawalakhel, Birendra Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalaya of Bhaktapur and New Horizon School of Butwal are competing schools from Nepal.

“BP Koirala Indo-Nepal Foundation has supported us to bring Indian schools at their own costs,” GCA principal Sunil Pradhan said.

NMB Bank clinched the title of the 14th Soaltee Crowne Plaza Super Sixes, a corporate cricket tournament, on Friday.
NMB Bank defeated Century Bank by 19 runs in the final of the six-a-side cricket tournament at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
NMB elected to bat and put up 69/3 in five overs. Rabindra Chand scored unbeaten 36 runs off 14 balls while Mohan KC scored 10 runs off seven balls. Bikash Shrestha and Vishnu Tiwari took a wicket each for Century Bank.
Chasing the 70-run target, Century could not play NMB bowling well right from the beginning. Century put together 50/3 in five overs. Sakar Lal Shrestha scored unbeaten 24 runs off 13 balls, while Abhaya Rana scored 12 runs off seven balls.
Dipesh Shrestha claimed a wicket for NMB, while two batsmen of Century were short of the crease.

Earlier today, NMB defeated Embassy of India by 23 runs, while Century thrashed Nepal Bank Ltd by six wickets in the semifinals on Friday morning.

Bank of Asia Nepal’s Amit Shrestha received the best bowler of the tournament award as he took six wickets from four matches, bowling only an over in a match as per the format of the tournament. Sakar Lal Shrestha of Century Bank got the best batsman award as he scored 107 runs off 45 balls he faced in first four matches. The awards were decided considering the performances until pre-quarterfinals round only.
Rabindra Chand of NMB Bank received special award for the most sixes in the tournament as he had struck 15 sixes throughout the tournament. He was also adjudged man-of-the-series. He accumulated 189 runs off the total 73 balls he faced in the six matches during the tournament. He claimed only one wicket in the entire tournament but gave only 45 runs off six overs.
Chief Secretary of Nepal Government Lila Mani Poudel, General Manager of Soaltee Crowne Plaza Nalin Mandiratta, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) President Tanka Aangbuhang and Broadcasting Association of Nepal President Bishnu Hari Dhakal gave away the prizes and trophies to the winners.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) started the first-ever fast bowling camp at the Tribhuvan University Ground, Kirtipur on Friday with the aim of producing fast bowlers for the future. The camp will conclude on Monday.

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Development officer and former Sri Lankan fast bowler Rumesh Ratnayake is taking charge of the camp as ACC development officer. Coaches Samson Jung Thapa, Manjur Alam Khan and national team captain Paras Khadka and former captain Binod Das will assist Ratnayake in the camp.

Altogether 17 fast bowlers, including national team members Chandra Saud and Krishna Karki, national women’s team captain Rubina Chhetri to U-16 bowlers Jagdish Chand and Kali Charan Yadav, are participating in the camp. Others included in the camp are Avinash Karna, Saurav Khanal, Ram Naresh Giri, Gopal Singh, Prajesh Bahadur Singh, Jitendra Mukhiya, Sanjog Karna, Jatta Shankar Sarraf, Amar Singh Routela, Ajay Shahani, Arjun Chapagain and Yagyaman Kumal.

“We feel proud to host the fast bowling camp for the first time among the associate nations of the ACC. We are looking for future fast bowlers. That is why we have included U-16 and U-19 players in the camp,” said Ashoknath Pyakuryal, general secretary of CAN. “We are planning to host special camps for batting, fielding and spin bowling in future,” he added.

Speaking at the inaugural function, ACC development officer Ratnayake claimed that it was the first ever fast bowling camp among the associate nations of ACC.

Ratnayake said that he would teach Nepali fast bowlers to keep natural instincts rather than looking for super speed. “We can not be Bret Lee or Michael Holding. Lee, Holding, Rumesh and Paras are different. Their bone structures and muscular strengths are different. So, I want to keep natural instincts and to be fit and intelligent,” said Ratnayake.

Ratnayake recalled his days as the fast bowling coach of Sri Lankan Cricket Board in 1998.

“I was a part of Sri Lankan board as a fast bowling coach. I was only level II coach then and I did not know much about what should be done. I applied very simple structure. I just ask people to go to every corner of Sri Lanka and tap even a person bowling in the street. Fast bowler like Dilhara Fernando was part of it. I had divided them in two strings. The boys in the string ‘A’ used go for national side. I’ll try to apply similar structure here,” said Ratnayake.

He asked Nepal not to expect a miracle but wait for another 10 years.

Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu announced to host the 14th edition of the Soaltee Crowne Plaza Super Sixes Cricket Tournament, an inter corporate event, from Sunday.

Altogether 24 teams of corporate houses are participating in the tournament that concludes on November 9. Soaltee Crowne Plaza organized a press conference on Friday and informed that the tournament will be played on league-cum-knockout format at the Tribhuvan University Ground, Kirtipur.

The participating teams are slated in eight different groups, top two teams from which qualify to the pre-quarterfinals.SoalteeCrownePlazahas been organizing the annual event with the theme “All Play No Work”.

“This tournament is a great opportunity for us to interact with our business associates and celebrate team spirit with fun,” said Nalin Mandiratta, general manager of the Soaltee Crowne Plaza. “Our endeavor is to organize the tournament successfully keeping the spirit of cricket alive,” he added.

The six-day tournament is a six-a-side tournament and the technical aspect of the tournament is managed by the professionals nominated by Cricket Association Nepal (CAN). According to the organizers, only players above 25 years could participate in the tournament.

Liquor brand Romanov is the title sponsor of the tournament this time, while corporate houses like Nabil Bank, Yeti Airlines, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, TAG Heuer and others are supporting the event.

According to Marketing and Public Relation Manager ofSoalteeCrownePlaza, Sony Chaudhary, the tournament will kick off with a friendly inaugural match between a media team and a team led by Chief Secretary Lila Mani Paudyal.

According to Chaudhary, there are individual prizes for player-of-the-series, best batsman, best bowler, best fielder as well as awards like fair-play team and most sixes.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) appointed Rubina Chhetri Belbasi the captain of Nepali national women’s team for the upcoming ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup.

Chhetri, who was vice captain in the last tournamentNepalhas played, has replaced Nery Thapa for the captainship. Thapa had led the Nepali team during the ACC T20 Championship held inKuwaitin 2011 replacing Neera Rajopadhyaya then.

Chhetri, who currently plays for Armed Police Force, had debuted in the national side in 2009. She was the captain of Nepali U-19 women’s team that completed title hat-trick in the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship held inKuwaitearlier this year. Chhetri was the player-of-the-final and the player-of-the-series during the tournament.

Thapa and Rajopadhyaya are also included in the team, which would be coached by Shyamson Jung Thapa. The 14-member women’s national squad announced by the CAN on Wednesday also includes Karuna Bhandari, Indu Berma, Mamata Kumari Chaudhary, Sita Rana Magar, Sonu Khadka, Rekha Rawal, Trishna Singh, Sarita Magar, Rashmi Sharma Chaulagain, Mamta Thapa, Roshani Bohara and Shova Ale.

Geeta Chudal, Shilu Rijal and Sangita Gauchan are considered only as reserved players.

The ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in Guangzhou, China from October 22 to November 1.Nepalis slated on group B of the tournament along with Bangladesh, China and Sri Lanka. Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and Thailand are placed in group A.

Nepal is to take on Sri Lanka in its first match of the tournament on October 25. Nepal will face Bangladesh on October 26 and China on October 29.

A victory parade was taken out in the capital on Monday to celebrate the Nepali national cricket team’s second major international title in a month. However, it was nothing like one.

The Nepali team on Friday had jointly lifted the title of ACC Trophy Elite along with host UAE. The team had also secured its berth in the World Cricket League Division 3 a few weeks ago after emerging champion in Division 4.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), which had earlier declared to provide Rs 30,000 each to all members of the squad, had organized the victory parade that began from Hotel Crown Plaza, Naxal.

However, CAN officials including its president Tanka Angbuhang, general secretary Ashok Nath Pyakurel and the vice-presidents didn’t attend the event. Only a handful of CAN officials took part in the victory parade. Angbuhang was also absent at the Tribhuvan International Airport when the team returned home after winning Division 4.

The victory parade, accompanied by traditional Nepali music instruments, had started from Naxal and ended at the National Sports Council (NSC) premises, Tripureshwar via Jai Nepal cinema hall, Ratna Park, Bag Bazaar, Putali Sadak, Bhrikuti Mandap, Bhadrakali and Shahid Gate. The players were carried on a truck.

The pedestrians waved to the cricketers to applaud the achievements of the triumphant team. About 100 cricket fans accompanied the team throughout the victory parade chanting, “Long live Nepali cricket team, Nepali cricket is our pride”.

But the atmosphere at NSC, the apex sports body, was just the opposite.

Neither was there microphone nor any banner. There were hardly enough chairs for the players. The fans present there were furious when the emcee made a mistake of addressing the team as the winner of  “ACC Elite Trophy held in Malaysia, Dubai”.

In the absence of Yuvaraj Lama, the member secretary of NSC, treasurer Indra Thing was scheduled to address the team. But the irked fans shouted slogans against CAN and NSC forcing the NSC staffers to get a microphone. They shouted: “Tanka Angbuhang resign from your post, don’t humiliate cricketers, we don’t need incapable CAN”.

“A CAN official telephoned me 15 minutes before the team arrived at NSC and told me to felicitate the team,” said Thing, “NSC had received the letter about the event yesterday but I was unaware of it. This event was organized in a hurry, so it was mismanaged and I apologize for it. Please do not take this as humiliation of cricketers,” said Thing who promised to honor the team before Dashain.

Speaking at the function, Nepali team skipper Paras Khadka said that the team was delighted with the rally but the closing ceremony was mismanaged. “The closing ceremony was not good which made the whole event charm-less,” said Khadka adding, “Our responsibility is to play cricket rather than make the environment for the game.”

“Everyone should understand that this is an important period for Nepali cricket and everyone should understand their responsibilities,” Khadka said.

Former national team player Dipendra Chaudhary expressed serious dissatisfaction over the reception at NSC. “A month ago, the government felicitated the members of the squad with Rs 300,000 each but the same team who achieved the greatest ever victory for Nepal has been ignored. They treated us as if the team had won a local club-level tournament.”

Nepali cricket fans are on cloud nine as their national squad claimed two prestigious titles within a month time and that too away from home.

Nepal had clinched only four titles in the last 16 years, after entering the international cricketing arena in 1996 through the ACC Trophy Elite. Contrary to the past, Nepal clinched ICC World Cricket League Division 4 and ACC Trophy Elite within a month.

So what is the reason for such difference in the Nepal team which has suddenly begun to believe in themselves and increasingly played with more confidence?

Captain Paras Khadka thinks his side has matured a lot in the recent times. “Every member in the team knows his responsibility and the role he has to play,” said Khadka.

Khadka´s claims seem to be absolutely right if we look back at the recent performances.

Basant Regmi took 22 wickets in the Division 4 held in Malaysia and was adjudged man-of-the-series. Shakti Gauchan became the most successful bowler of the ACC Trophy Elite that concluded in the UAE on Friday as he claimed 15 wickets in six matches with 3.18 economy rate.

Spinners have always been the strength of Nepali side in the past and they maintained the domination even in the last two tournaments.

However, Nepali batsmen pleased Nepali fans more this time. “Chasing targets above 150-run used to be a tough task for our team in the past but we have seen huge progress in batting in recent days,” said Santosh Mardan Thapa, former member of Cricket Association Nepal (CAN).

Nepali batsmen had scored only three centuries in the last 16 years after the international debut but Nepali cricket fans witnessed three centuries in the last two tournaments.

Opener Subash Khakurel scored 115 runs against the USA and his opening partner Anil Mandal struck 113 runs against Denmark in Division 4. Skipper Khadka scored unbeaten 106 runs against Kuwait in the ACC Trophy Elite.

Khadka was adjudged man-of-the-series as he scored 291 runs and took nine wickets in the ACC Trophy. His batting average was 72.75 in the ACC Trophy.

Likewise, Vice Captain Gyanendra Malla scored 212 runs while openers Mandal and Khakurel scored 200 and 139 runs respectively from the six matches of the ACC Trophy.

Not only the top order, lower order batsmen like Sharad Vesawkar, Pradeep Airee, Prithu Banskota and Shakti Gauchan chipped in to rescue team in crucial moments.

“Our batsmen showed their guts to chase any total and it is a huge improvement I have noticed in our team,” said Uttam Karmacharya, who was the captain when Nepal participated in the ACC Trophy for the first time in 1996.

Not only Nepali cricket fans but also the opponent coaches applauded Nepali players during the ACC Trophy. “They were one of the best team in the tournament. “I am surprised to see the guts shown by Nepal. They fought on to tie the match. They are much fitter team since they are professionals and full time cricketers,” UAE coach Aaqib Javed, former Pakistani cricketer, told a local UAE newspaper.

Skipper Khadka credited extra labor of players and Coach Pubudu Dassanayake behind the success.

“Nobody is taking his place in the national squad for granted and everybody is putting in extra effort to retain his place,” said Khadka.

“Meanwhile, the coach has brought in positive attitude in all players. We used to practice for some hours during the closed camp training but we are practicing for 4 to 5 hours daily and round the year,” he added.

To achieve the successes, Dassanayake kept national players busy in cricket calendar and played pivotal role to arrange exposures to some of the cricketers in the foreign tournaments.

He arranged training session for Shakti Gauchan with Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals, sent skipper Paras Khadka to Canada to play professional tournament and arranged places for fast bowler Chandra Saud and Amrit Bhattarai in U-23 tournament of Sri Lanka. He arranged special training for Anil Mandal, Sharad Vesawkar and Gyanendra Malla in India. On the other hand, he engaged national players in training sessions regularly.

“I wanted to change the cricket culture of players on and off the field. Senior players must be role models for the upcoming players and for me, one can be a role model only with his hard work and proper training,” said Dassanayake.

Skipper Khadka thinks that his boys were always full of skill but the busy schedule helped them convert the skill into performance.

“We are able to adapt to whatever coach told us during the match these days,” said Khadka.

“Probably, coaching style of the new coach (Pubudu Dassanayake) suited Nepali national team as Roy sir´s (former coach Roy Luke Dias) style used to suit the age-group teams in the past,” said former Captain Binod Das.

“Probably, the growing age of players is also contributing to bring in maturity. We are more experienced now,” added Sharad Vesawkar, the middle-order batsman.

Das thinks that the current form of Nepali national squad is at a peak and the team should continue with it for a longer period. However, Khadka disagrees with Das. “I still don´t feel it´s our peak form yet. We have scope for improvement in many areas. I think we could be better,” said Khadka.

Then, is there nothing to worry in future? Skipper Khadka thinks smaller players´ pool could be Nepal´s headache in future. “We have very small players pool. We sometimes do not get proper replacement for injured players,” said Khadka. “The CAN should think about developing players´ pool and also the ´A´ team,” Khadka concluded.

(Source: Republica)

The Nepal Confederation of Sports (NECOS), sports wing of the CPN-UML, felicitated Nepali national cricket team on Sunday for winning the titles of ICC World Cricket League Division 4 and ACC Trophy Elite.

UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal handed over cash prizes worth Rs 80,555 to the team captain Paras Khadka while UML General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel, Secretary Shankar Pokharel and Central Committee Member Ghanashyam Bhusal handed over mementos to the team members.

“You have made the entire country proud,” said Khanal to the cricketers. “Nepali sports is developing and I know that we still lack infrastructures.”

Speaking at function, captain Khadka urged political parties and concerned authorities to increase investment in cricket.

“It is the only game that can take Nepal to the World Cup in near future. Our only request to the concerned authorities is to invest in cricket and develop infrastructures,” said Khadka.

Nepal had clinched the title of the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 on September 10 beating the USA in the final held in Malaysia on September 10.

Likewise, Nepal finished the ACC Trophy Elite as joint winner as the final match against the UAE ended in a tie on Friday.

A roller-coaster ride and the last over drama, nothing could separate Nepal and the UAE forcing both the teams to share the ACC Trophy Elite title.

The final match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium ended in a tie on Friday as Nepal reached 241/9 after the completion of 50 overs. Earlier, the UAE had put up 241/6.

It is the first timeNepalhas finished the ACC Trophy Elite as winner.Nepalhad reached the finals in 2002 and 2010 editions of the tournament and lost to the UAE by six wickets andAfghanistanby 95 runs correspondingly.

It is the second title for Nepal in a span of a month. Nepal had won ICC World Cricket League Division 4 title held in Malaysia last month.

Chasing 242-run target, Nepal had to score 12 runs from the last over to win the match. Shakti Gauchan was on strike and Sharad Vesawkar was at the other end giving hope toNepal. Gauchan failed to score in the first ball but pushed the second for a run. Vesawkar again could not go for a big hit and settled for a single. However, Gauchan struck a brilliant six to bring down the equation four runs required off two balls. Gauchan pulled two runs in the fifth ball but managed to score only a single in the last ball. He was run out trying to push for winning run.

Nepalhad started the run-chase brilliantly as its opening pair Subash Khakurel and Anil Mandal put-up a 94-run partnership. Manjula Guruge took the wicket of Mandal in 21.5 overs and Saqib Ali claimed the wicket of Khakurel in the 24.3 overs. Mandal scored 44 runs off 67 balls including two boundaries and a six while Khakurel contributed 55 runs off 74 balls including two boundaries and two sixes.

In the middle order, Gyanendra Malla scored 32 runs off 41 balls, captain Paras Khadka scored 31 runs off 37 balls. Pradeep Airee chipped in with 16 runs off 28 balls.

Nepallost wickets in the quick span in the later part of the innings but Vesawkar remained unbeaten with 38 runs off 36 balls hitting a boundary and two sixes. Gauchan scored 14 runs to end the match in a tie.

It was the highest successful run-chase by Nepali batsmen at the international level.

Earlier,Nepal, which was without fast bowlers Amrit Bhattarai and Binod Das because of injuries, has elected to field first.Nepalstarted well and the UAE was at 24/3 at a point. However, the middle order of the host rebuilt the innings.

Captain Khurram Khan and Saqib Ali put up an 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Player-of-the-final Ali remained unbeaten with 101 runs off 103 balls. He struck eight boundaries and two sixes. Khan scored 61 runs off 79 balls including five boundaries. Opener Abdul Shakoor (20 runs), Haroon Iftikhar (24 runs) and Roshan Mustafa (unbeaten 21 runs) were the other contributors for the UAE. Gauchan took three wickets and Sanjam Regmi claimed a wicket forNepal.

“We are very happy despite of the tie since we are claiming the title for the first time,” said Uttam Karmacharya, the Nepali team manager. “Our batsmen showed their guts to chase any total and it is a huge improvement I have noticed in our team,” said Karmacharya, who was the captain whenNepalparticipated in the ACC Trophy for the first time in 1996.

Nepali captain Khadka credited the title victory to his teammates. “Our hard work paid us back and we are happy,” said Khadka. “The World Cricket League Division 4 victory has its own meaning but for us this trophy has more value as we put up entirely high level performance in this tournament,” he added.

Coach Pubudu Dassanayake termed the tie as new experience to his boys. “We had made few mistakes but boys’ experienced lots of new things because of the tie. I’m happy to finish the tournament as champion,” said Dassanayake.

He applauded Nepali batsmen for the brilliant run chase. “There are talented players and whatever I Can I have given to them. They are now totally new side in terms of batting,” said Dassanayake.

Khadka, Gauchan shine

Nepali captain Khadka was awarded player-of-the-series. Khadka is the top scorer of the tournament as he has scored 291 runs from five innings of six matches with an average of 72.75. He has also claimed nine wickets in the tournament.

“I’m glad that I contributed to the team to be a champion and I’m ready for much more in days to come,” said Khadka. “Not only me, all the players showcased their maturity,” he added.

Coach Dassanayake said that Khadka’s success is a morale boost for Nepali team and Nepali cricket.

Meanwhile, Nepali spinner Gauchan finished the tournament as the most successful bowler. Gauchan claimed 15 wickets in six matches with an economy of 3.18.

Nepal is taking on host UAE in the final of the ACC Trophy Elite on Friday at the Sharjah Cricket Ground as it chases an illusive trophy for the third time.

It is the third ACC Trophy Elite final for Nepal and second in a row. However, Nepal is yet to win the title.

Nepal secured the final berth defeating Malaysia by 21 runs in the semifinal on Wednesday while the UAE thrashed Afghanistan by eight wickets.

“We had a good rest today (Thursday), had a pool session to relax and held a team meeting in the evening. We are looking for a good game tomorrow (Friday),” said Nepali team coach Pubudu Dassanayake.

However, Nepali team is concerned over the fitness of two fast bowlers in the team. As Amrit Bhattarai is suffering from chest pain and Binod Das is suffering from knee injury, coach Dassanayake has to pick either spinner Sanjam Regmi or batsman Binod Bhandari for the final match.

“Right now both the fast bowlers are not available for the final but we are trying to see them in the morning. There is only 20 percent hope of their availability,” said Dassanayake on Thursday evening. “We’ll inspect the wicket on Friday morning and finalize the players. If we find a spinning wicket, we’ll pick Sanjam (Regmi) otherwise we’ll go for an extra batsman,” he added.

Nepal had lost to Afghanistan by 95 runs in the final of last edition of the ACC Trophy held in Kuwait in 2010, when the UAE had crashed out of the tournament from group stage. Nepal is expecting to go one-step better this time and the UAE is expecting to bring back the lost glory.

Nepali team is putting its faith on its batsmen and the spinner for the final as they are doing well in the tournament. Nepali captain Paras Khadka is the leading scorer of the tournament so far. Khadka has scored 260 runs in five matches with an average of 86.66 and strike rate of 109.70.

Vice captain Gyanendra Malla is on the fifth position of leading scorer with 180 runs from five matches.

Meanwhile, spinner Shakti Gauchan is the fourth highest wicket taker of the tournament as he had claimed 12 wickets in the tournament. Another spinner Basant Regmi has also claimed 10 wickets in the tournament.

Nepali national team had broken the jinx against the UAE in the opening match of the ongoing tournament and defeated the host by four wickets last week.

Earlier, Nepal had encountered the UAE six times in the One-Day format and lost all of them. The UAE is higher ranked team than Nepal in ICC World Cricket League (WCL). The UAE is currently enjoying WCL Division 2 status and is among the top eight associate nation teams that can play in the World Cricket League Championship, from which top two teams qualify for the upcoming Cricket World Cup.

“We really want to prove that we are a better side than Afghanistan and the UAE. The UAE have good players and they are used to the playing condition. We have defeated UAE in the first match of the tournament. However, tomorrow’s (Friday’s) match would be a different game altogether. It would be a good test for our team as well,” said Dassanayke.

Nepal defeated Malaysia by 21 runs on Wednesday to reach the consecutive final of the ACC Trophy Elite.

Captain Paras Khadka and Vice Captain Gyanendra Malla put up a 112-run partnership for the third wicket and took Nepal at 241/9 in 45 overs while Prithu Baskota took three wickets to restrict Malaysia at 220/9 in 45 overs. The match was reduced to 45 overs in each innings due to dense fog in the morning at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium,Abu Dhabi.

It is the third ACC Trophy Elite final for Nepal and in the all three occasion Nepal has defeated Malaysia in the semifinals. Nepal is yet to clinch the title of the ACC Trophy Elite.

Malaysia won the toss and elected to field first. Nepal started disastrously as it lost openers Subash Khakurel (3 runs) and Anil Mandal (8 runs) as early as the team score was 21/2 in 6.2 overs. However, Khadka and Malla played sensible innings by anchoring it and speeding it up. Khadka scored 89 runs off 96 balls. He struck 10 boundaries and a six. It was the consecutive half-century by the Nepali captain, who scored an unbeaten century against Kuwait. Khadka is the leading scorer of the tournament so far. Khadka has scored 260 runs in five matches with an average of 86.66 and strike rate of 109.70.

Malla scored 34 runs off 60 balls including two boundaries before Anwar Rahman trapped him run out.

Sharad Vesawkar chipped in with 37 runs off 44 balls and Pradeep Airee added 11 runs off 14 balls. More importantly, Nepali U-19 captain Prithu Baskota added quick-fired 34 runs. He faced 21 balls and hit three boundaries and two sixes.

Nazril Rahman took four wickets for Malaysia while Khizar Hayat Durrani, Faruq Hakimin and Anwar Rahman claimed a wicket each.

In chasing 242-run target, Malaysia lost opener Anwar Arudin (8 runs) early. However, opener Faizal Abu Hasan (33 runs) and the Malaysian middle order put up a good challenge to Nepali bowling attack.

Nepali pacer Amrit Bhattarai, who claimed the wicket of Arudin, had to leave the ground while bowling his fourth over with a severe chest pain. Bhattarai could bowled only three balls in the fourth over and Airee had to complete the over.

Ahmed Faiz (29 runs), Faiz (23 runs), Suhan Kumar (43 runs) and Shafiq Sharif (42 runs) were the major contributors for Malaysia.

As long as the partnership between Suhan Kumar and Shafiq Sharif was on, it looked as if Malaysia could stun Nepal, but Nepal crawled back with quick wickets and qualified to the final.

Baskota was the most successful Nepali bowler as he took three wickets. Shakti Gauchan took two wickets while Bhattarai, Khadka, Basant Regmi and Bhuvan Karki took a wicket each.

Nepali captain Khadka was adjudged man-of-the-match for his brilliant knock.

“It’s always good to be in the final. From here we can expect of winning the tournament,” said Nepali team coach Pubudu Dassanayake. “The guys are playing quality cricket. The only area we are struggling is the fast bowling as our both fast bowlers are injured,” he added.

UAE stuns Afghanistan

Nepal will take on the UAE in the final as the host stunned defending champion Afghanistan by eight wickets. The UAE bowled out Afghanistan at mere 70 runs in 30.4 overs and met the target in 23.4 overs losing only two wickets.

Nepal had defeated the UAE by four wickets in the opening match of the ongoing tournament.

Nepal is taking on Hong Kong on Tuesday in a must win match to secure semifinal of the ACC Trophy Elite being held in the UAE.

With the victory against Saudi Arabia, Nepal’s chance to qualify to the semifinal came on track while UAE confirmed semifinal berth defeating Kuwait by 141 runs on Sunday. Nepal has suffered 4-wicket defeat against Kuwait and was in must win situation.

On the group B points table, the UAE is on top with six points from four matches. Hong Kong has second place on the table with four points from three matches. Nepal also has four points from three matches but inferior net run rate than Hong Kong.

As Nepal is taking on Hong Kong on Tuesday, any team that wins the Tuesday’s match will qualify to the semifinal of the tournament.

“It will be a vital match. If we win it, we’ll not only go forward but also have a chance to finish on the top of the group’s points table,” said Nepali team coach Pubudu Dassanayake.

Dassanayake expected that at least one of the two fast bowlers would be available for the match. “We are trying to get them fit before the match. We can hope at least one would be available for the match,” said Dassanayake. Nepali fast bowlers Binod Das and Amrit Bhattarai, both, are suffering from injury and they were not in the team that faced Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Head-to-Head

Hong Kong is a team of World Cricket League Division 2. On the other hand, Nepal has recently secured promotion to Division 3.

Hong Kong is the winner of 2008 edition of the ACC Trophy Elite held in Malaysia. Nepal has reached the finals of 2002 and 2010 edition of the tournament but had to satisfy as runner-up in both occasions.

Nepal and Hong Kong had played six One-Day matches in the past. Nepal had won last three encounters and Hong Kong had won the first three.

Nepali men’s team has never lost to Hong Kong in 50-over format of the game after the 179-run semifinal defeat in 2000 edition of the ACC Trophy Elite held in the UAE.

Nepal had lost to Hong Kong by five wickets in 1996 edition of ACC Trophy Elite held in Malaysia and suffered six wickets defeat in 1998 edition held in Kathmandu.

Nepal defeated Hong Kong by 87 runs in 2006 edition held in Malaysia. In group-stage match of 2008 edition held in Malaysia, Nepal had stunned Hong Kong by 44 runs but the latter resurrected in the tournament as the ultimate winner. In 2010 edition held in Kuwait, Nepal had thrashed Hong Kong by 118 runs.

Gyanendra Malla scored fastest half-century for Nepal as Pubudu Dassanayake’s boys pulled off a nine-wicket victory over Saudi Arabia in the ACC Trophy Elite on Sunday.

Chasing 132-run target at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Nepal reached 133/1 in just 13.1 overs as Malla remained unbeaten on 61 runs.

It was the first One-Day encounter betweenNepalandSaudi Arabia.

Openers Subash Khakurel and Anil Mandal put up 52-run opening partnership. Mandal scored 29 runs off 25 balls before Mohammad Nadeem bowled him out. However, Khakurel remained unbeaten with 35 runs off 31 balls.

Vice captain Malla was superb in his batting and scored unbeaten 61 runs off 23 balls to seal the easy victory. He hit 13 boundaries and a towering six during the innings. He struck six consecutive boundaries off Mohammad Nadeem in the 10th over to become the first Nepali cricketer to strike six boundaries in an over.

Man-of-the-match Malla had reached the half-century only from 18 balls. It was the fastest half-century scored by Nepali batsman. Until now, Raju Khadka had the record to his name as he had scored a half-century from 37 balls againstBhutanin 2003.

Earlier,Nepalelected to field and restrictedSaudi Arabiato 131 runs in 48.2 overs. Captain Paras Khadka and Basant Regmi took three wickets each while Shakti Gauchan and Bhuwan Karki claimed two wickets each.

Ifthakar Ali (unbeaten 28 runs), Mohammad Mohsin (27 runs), Mohammad Nadeem (19 runs) and Nadeem Al-Nadwi (16 runs) were the major contributors for the Saudi Arabia.

“It was an expected result. We were to set up good net run rate from the match and we maintained it. However, we are still missing fast bowlers as both of them are suffering from injury,” said Nepali team coach Dassanayake.

Dassanayake applauded Malla´s innings against Saudi Arabia. “It was brilliant knock with good cricketing shots. We were to push Saudi Arabia to seal the match as soon as possible and he batted brilliantly,” he said.

Nepal failed to defend a formidable total against Kuwait on Saturday in the ACC Trophy Elite and slumped to four wickets defeat for the first time against Kuwait in 50-over format.

Electing to bat first, Nepal made 280/4 with first international century from skipper Paras Khadka at the Al Dhaib Cricket Village in the UAE. However, Kuwait surpassed the target with 22 ball to spare making 286/6.

The defeat also put a brake on Nepal’s highest winning streak of nine One-Day matches in international cricket. In the absence of its fast bowlers, Binod Das and Amrit Bhattarai, Nepal known for its tight bowling failed to come up with good bowling performance.

Skipper Paras Khadka and Shakti Gauchan claimed two wickets apiece while Pradeep Aire got one scalp. In Kuwait’s run chase, Irfan Bhatti (47) and Abid Mushtaq (54) put up 92 runs partnership for the first wicket in 10.1 over before Bhatti was run out.

“Kuwait scored more than 90 runs in the first 10 overs that turned to be the setback for us,”Nepal’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake told cricket.com.np during a telephonic conversation. “We did not have a single fast bowler today as Binod Das and Amrit Bhattarai were not included in the starting list due to injury.” Das and Bhattarai both have has picked up knee injury.

Fifth order batsman Sibtain Raza was the highest scorer for Kuwait who scored 77 off 84. Kashif Sharif scored 59 and Hisham Mirza was unbeaten for 26 runs.

Earlier, Nepal’s opening pair of Subash Khakurel (45) and Anil Mandal (19) put up 61 runs partnership for the first wicket in 18.6 overs after Mandal was caught. Nepal lost Khakurel with 45 runs off 86 in the 25.5 overs.

Third order batsman Gyanemdra Malla scored 53 off 59 and fourth order Paras Khadka scored unbeaten 106 off 77 to take Nepal to the huge total.

The duo played a partnership of 97 runs for the third wickets. Khadka’s innings included four sixes and seven boundaries. Prithu Baskota was unbeaten for 37 runs and Pradeep Aire scored 11 runs.

Saad Khalid, Kashif Sharif, Sibtain Raza and Hisham Mirza claimed one wicket apiece of Nepal.

“We fell 20-run short as we were a little slow in the beginning,” said Nepal’s coach Dassanayake, who was full of praise for his skipper Paras Khadka. “Khadka came up with good batting.”

Dassnayake also said that his side still has a chance to make it to the next round. “Hong Kong, Kuwait and the UAE have all lost one match each and if we win our next two matches we will advance.”

Earlier, Nepal had defeated the host UAE by four wickets in its first match.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced an 18-member preliminary Nepali squad on Friday for the upcoming ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup.

The preliminary squad includes Karuna Bhandari, Rubina Chhetri, Indu Berma, Nerry Thapa, Mamata Kumari Chaudhary, Sangita Gauchan, Geeta Chudal, Rekha Rawal, Trishna Singh and Sarita Magar. Likewise, Shilu Rijal, Mamta Thapa, Roshani Bohara, Shova Aale, Neera Rajopadhyaya, Rashmi Sharma Chaulagain, Sonu Khadka and Sita Rana Magar are also called in the closed camp training of the preliminary squad.

The CAN is set to start the closed camp training of the Nepali women’s team inKathmandufrom Sunday.

The CAN has recently conducted Wai Wai Women’s National T20 Cricket Tournament in Pokhara last week.

According to the CAN General Secretary Ashok Nath Pyakuryal, coach Shyamson Thapa will look after the team in the closed camp training.

The ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in Guangzhou, China from October 22 to November 1.

Nepal is slated on group B of the tournament along with Bangladesh, Chinaand Sri Lanka. Hong Kong,India, Pakistan and Thailand are placed in group A. Nepal is to take on Sri Lanka in its first match of the tournament on October 25. Nepal will face Bangladesh on October 26 and China on October 29.