Cricket Nepal (Archive)

Nepali national cricket team finally broke the jinx against the UAE and clinched its first ever victory over the Arab side in One-Day format of cricket on Wednesday.

Nepalhad lost all the six matches played against the UAE in the past. With the victory over the UAE, Nepali national cricket team stretched its winning streak to nine matches in the One-Day format.

Anil Mandal receives man-of-the-match from ACC Development officer Ali Anwar Jafri.
Photo Courtesy: ACC

Nepalobserved a rollercoaster ride but ultimately won its first match of the ACC Trophy Elite by four wickets against the host UAE at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Chasing 134-run target,Nepallost opener Subash Khakurel (1 run), Gyanendra Malla (4 runs) and captain Paras Khadka (4 runs) cheaply andNepalwas at 11/3 in 6.3 overs. After scoring eight runs in the third over of the innings,Nepalcould not add single run in the next five overs.

However, opener Anil Mandal did not loose his cool even in such painful scenario. He put up 37-run fourth wicket partnership with Sharad Vesawkar (16 runs off 51 balls) to build a platform.

AsNepalwas going slow, Pradeep Airee came on the crease blazing all guns. He opened his account through a towering six. Airee (17 runs off 24 balls) put up a 46-run fifth wicket partnership with Mandal. Airee hit two sixes to speed up Nepali innings.

Madal played cautiously and waited until 74th ball for his first boundary. He scored 63 runs off 129 balls including five boundaries. Arshad Ali took his wicket in the first ball of 39th over, whenNepalwas 112/6.

Prithu Baskota chipped in and remained unbeaten with invaluable 15 runs off 24 balls while Shakti Gauchan added unbeaten eight runs to seal the victory.

Manjula Guruge, who has done earlier damage toNepal, took three wickets while Arshad Ali claimed two wickets.

Earlier, Shakti Gauchan completed five-wicket haul to limit the UAE at 133 runs in 40.5 overs. It is second five-wicket haul of Gauchan in One-Day format at the international level.

As Nepali spin bowling dominated the UAE batsmen, Basant Regmi claimed three wickets. More importantly, Nepali medium pacers, Amrit Bhattarai, skipper Khadka and Pradeep Airee well supported spinners. Bhattarai and Khadka claimed a wicket each.

Mohammad Ahmed was the top scorer for the UAE with 33 runs including three boundaries and two sixes. Openers Haroon Iftikar (18 runs) and Abdul Shakoor (15 runs), captain Khurram Khan (20 runs), Rohan Mustafa (12 runs) and Arshad Ali (12 runs) were the other contributors for the UAE.

“We played a fantastic game today (Wednesday). We always believed that we belong to Division 1. Today, we proved it by beating the UAE. Well-done and all the credits to boys,” wrote overwhelmed Nepali team coach Pubudu Dassanayake on his facebook wall.

Nepali opener Mandal was adjudged man-of-the-match for his sensible batting.

Nepalwill take onKuwaitin its next match on Saturday.

Armed Police Force (APF) clinched the title of the Wai Wai Women’s National T20 Cricket Tournament as it defeated Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) by 34 runs in the final at the Pokhara Stadium on Wednesday.

It was consecutive domestic title for APF, which had won gold medal in the Sixth National Games held in Mahendranagar earlier this year.

APF elected to bat and put up 110/5 in 20 overs at the Pokhara Stadium as opener Madhu Thapa scored 41 runs off 39 balls and Sita Rana Magar struck 11 runs. Sarita Magar remained unbeaten with 22 runs and Nepalguj bowled 20 extras to help APF reach the big total.

In reply, Nepalgunj reached only 76/5 in 20 overs. Laxmi Chaudhary scored 35 runs off 59 balls and Trishna Singh added 17 runs for Nepalgunj but those attempts were not enough to avoid defeat. Sonu Khadka and Sarita Magar took two wickets each for APF’s victory.

With the title victory, APF received Rs 25,000 while runner-up Nepalgunj bagged Rs 15,000. Nepalgunj was the winner of the last domestic women’s cricket tournament.

APF opener Thapa was adjudged player-of-the-final as she top-scored the match. She bagged Rs 5,000.

Sita Rana Magar of APF received the best batswoman trophy. She had scored 111 runs in four group stage matches with an average of 55.50.

Likewise, Sarita Magar, also from APF, received the trophy of the best bowler. She has taken nine wickets in four group stage matches with an economy of 2.06. Sita and Sarita both got Rs 5,000 for the award.

Meanwhile, Roshani Bohara of Region No 6 (Baitadi) was awarded the player-of-the-series. She had scored 99 runs and claimed six wickets during the tournament. Bohara bagged Rs 10,000 for her all round performance.

National Sports Council Treasurer Indra Bahadur Thing, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) Ashok Nath Pyakuryal, sponsor CG Foods’ Assistant General Manager Lal Babu Prasad and other officials gave away prizes and awards to the winners.

(News will be updated soon)

Nepal won the first match of the ACC Trophy against the host Malaysia by 4 Wkts

Anil Mandal -63 runs and Shakti Gauchan – 5 wkts are the heroes for Nepal’s first ever victory over UAE at the senior level in OneDay format

Nepal -134/6 (45.2 overs)

Anil Mandal -63 runs, Pradeep Airee -17 runs, Sharad Vesawkar -16 runs, Prithu Baskota – 15 runs (unbeaten), Shakti Gauchan – 8 runs (unbeaten), Gyanendra Malla – 4 runs, Paras Khadka -4 runs and Subash Khakurel -1 run

Manjula Guruge 3 wickets, Arshad Ali 2 wickets

UAE – 133/10 (40.5 overs)

Shakti Gauchan 5 wkt, Basanta Regmi -3wkt,  Amrit Bhattarai-1wkt, Paras Khadka -1wkt

Mohammad Azam- 33, Khurram Khan -20, Abdul Shakoor-17, Haroon Iftikhar-18, Arshad Ali -12 (unbeaten), Roshan Mustafa- 12,  Shaiman Anwar-9, Saqib Ali -5, Fayyaz Ahmed -4, EHSN Silva -1, Manjula Guruge -0

UAE won the toss and elected to bat first

Nepali national cricket team looks to break jinx against the UAE as it takes on the host nation at Sharjah Cricket Ground on Wednesday in the ACC Trophy Elite.

Nepal had encountered the UAE six times in the past in the One-Day format of the game and lost all the six matches. The UAE had thrashed Nepal by 94 runs in the group stage of 1998 edition of ACC Trophy held in Kathmandu and beaten by a wicket in the 2000 edition held in the UAE. In the group stage match and the final of 2002 Singapore edition of the tournament, the UAE had defeated Nepal by six wickets on both occasion. Likewise, Nepal had lost to the UAE by nine wickets in the semifinal of 2006 edition held in Malaysia and by six wickets in the semifinal of the 2008 edition.

Nepalis yet to beat the UAE in T20 format also. The only victoryNepalhad registered against the UAE was in a three-day match held inKathmanduin 2005.

However, Nepali team spirited by its title victory in the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 looks to break the jinx against the UAE this time.

“We are focusing on batting improvement to face the team like the UAE andAfghanistan, which have quality bowling,” said Nepali team coach Pubudu Dassanayake before flying to the UAE for the tournament.

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.

“Things are moving well for us now and the ACC Trophy would be the real time to check our standard against quality team like Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman and the UAE,” said Dassanayake.

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.

AsNepalis expecting to go one-step better this time than the last edition and the UAE is expecting to bring back the lost glory, the Wednesday’s match is expected to be tough for the both sides.

Nepalis slated on the group B of the tournament along with the UAE, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Nepal will face Kuwait on Saturday and Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Nepal will lock horns with Hong Kong on October 9 in the last group B match of the tournament.

Afghanistan,Malaysia, Oman, Bhutan and Maldives are slated on group A. Top two teams of a group will qualify for the semifinals.

Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) set up final clash against Armed Police Force (APF) in the Wai Wai Women’s National T20 Cricket Tournament.

Nary Thapa of Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) receives player-of-the-match trophy from CAN Memeber Deepak Koirala.
Courtesy:CAN

Nepalgunj defeated Region No 6 (Baitadi) by 13 runs in the first semifinal on Tuesday while APF thrashed Region No 3 (Kathmandu) by seven wickets.

At the Nagar Bikash Ground in Pokhara, Baitadi elected to field first. Opener Laxmi Chaudhary scored 26 runs off 40 balls to take Nepalgunj to a total of 72/5 in 20 overs. Trishna Singh added 12 runs remaining unbeaten while Mnisha Rawal chipped in with 10 runs. Rekha Rawal took three wickets for Baitadi.

Chasing a 73-run target, Baitadi was all out with 59 runs in 18.3 overs. Opener Rekha Rawal (11 runs) and Roshani Bohara (21 runs) tried to anchor the Baitadi innings but could not avoid the defeat. Had not Nepalgunj bowled 16 extras, Baitadi would have suffered more humiliating defeat. To seal victory for Nepalgunj, Nery Thapa, Trishna Singh and Samjhana Sharma dismissed two batswomen each. Thapa took two catches and involved in a run out to clinch the player-of-the-match trophy.

In the second semifinal played also at the Nagar Bikash ground, Kathmandu elected to bat and put up 50/8 in 20 overs. Geeta Chudal scored 16 runs off 33 balls but none of the other batswomen reached to a double-digit score. Player-of-the-match Neera Rajopadhyaya and Sonu Khadka took two wickets.

In reply, APF met the target in 11.1 overs losing only three wickets. Madhu Thapa and Sarita Magar scored 15 runs each while Captain Neera Rajopadhyaya remained unbeaten with 14 runs.

The final match of the tournament will be played at the Pokhara Stadium on Wednesday.

ACC Trophy Elite scheduled to kick off in the UAE from Wednesday will be a reality check for the Nepali national cricket team overwhelmed by the title win of ICC World Cricket League Division 4 last month in Malaysia.

Nepali players and coach have already set a new target of qualifying to the WCL Division 2 and at least earn One-Day status. In this scenario, the ACC Trophy Elite would be an opportunity to prove their claims, as Nepal is to meet higher ranked team like the host UAE, Hong Kong in the group stage and could meet Oman and Afghanistan in the later part of the tournament.

“Things are moving well for us and the ACC Trophy would be the real time to check our standard against quality team like Afghanistan, the UAE, Hong Kong and Oman, who are above us in ranking,” said coach Pubudu Dassanayake.

“During the Division 4 in Malaysia, we didn’t have to face quality bowling like of Afghanistan and the UAE. We are focusing on batting improvement to face them in the ACC Trophy,” he added.

Nepal will start ACC Trophy campaign on Wednesday as it takes on the host UAE. Nepal will face Kuwait on Saturday and Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Nepal will lock horns with Hong Kong on October 9 in the last group B match of the tournament.

Afghanistan, Malaysia, Oman, Bhutan and Maldives are slated on group A of the tournament. Top two teams of a group will qualify for the semifinals.

“We do have specific plans for each team and we want to keep on improving in batting during the ACC Trophy as we are to face quality bowling in the UAE,” said Dassanayake. “Our bowling is up to the standard and fielding is better now,” he added.

However, Dassanayake is not fully satisfied with the preparation. “It is not the best condition but we are trying to get better with whatever we have. We could not tour the UAE prior to the tournament and we had no choice than training here in Kirtipur,” said Dassanayake before leavingKathmanduon Sunday.

The coach said that there is no injury scares in the team except minor injuries to fast bowlers Amrit Bhattarai and Binod Das. “They are facing minor injuries but they will be fit for the tournament,” assured the coach.

Earlier, fast bowler Chandra Saud and spinner Rahul Vishwakarma had pulled out of the team because of the injury and batsman Binod Bhandari and spinner Bhuwan Karki had replaced them.

Nepal is yet to clinch the title of ACC Trophy. Nepal had reached the final of 2002 and 2010 editions of the tournament but lost to the UAE and Afghanistan correspondingly. Nepal had reached only semifinals in the 2000, 2006 and 2008 edition. Nepal was out from group stage in the 1996 and 1998 editions and had finished fifth in the 2004 edition.

Nepal will take on Sri Lanka in its first match of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup to be held i n Guangzhou, China from October 24 to 31.

Nepal will take on Sri Lanka on October 25. Asian Cricket Council (ACC) published the tournament draw on Monday and Nepal is 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 will face Bangladesh on October 26 and China on October 29.

“Coaching is challenging and I´m here to face it.”

Pubudu Dassanayake, the coach of Nepali national cricket team, said this a year ago when he first arrived inKathmanduto take the charge of Nepali team inSeptember 29, 2011.

He promised to takeNepalinto the ICC World T20 Qualifiers and to improveNepal’s ICC World Ranking. He has met his goals and still sees more challenges since he is raising his own bar after every success.

“I’m happy with the progress we have attained in terms of conditions and resources available. However, I cannot relax until reaching the World Cup Qualifiers or the Division 2,” said Dassanayake, who is busy training national squad for the upcoming ACC Trophy Elite to be held in the UAE from October 1.

In his first assignment, theSri Lankaborn Canadian coach guided Nepali team to the semifinal of ACC T20 Cup to secure berth in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers. During the qualifiers,Nepalfinished seventh among the ICC’s associate nations.

He then guided Nepali national team to the title of the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 held inMalaysiaearlier this month. The Division 4 victory not only tookNepalinto the Division 3 but also reshapedNepal’s World Cup dream.

“If we cannot go forward from Division 3, celebrating Division 4 victory will have no meaning, since we have to wait for two years to reshape it again. If we cannot achieve more success, there is no meaning of my stay here,” the coach revealed his new challenges.

To achieve the successes in the last 12 months with the senior team, 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 toCanadato play professional tournament and arranged places for fast bowler Chandra Saud and Amrit Bhattarai in U-23 tournament ofSri Lanka. He arranged special training for Anil Mandal, Sharad Vesawkar and Gyanendra Malla inIndia. 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 model for the upcoming players and for me, one can be a role model only with his hard work and proper training,” said Dassanayake.

“Talent and ability wise, I had never doubted them but it was good to see them translating it into performance on the ground,” he added.

However, Dassanayake also witnessed some lows in the last 12 months. Nepali U-19 team put up worst ever performance in the U-19 World Cup held inAustralialast month.

Witnessing such a low, Dassanayake lamented that he could not work on the development side in the last one year. “The development side is yet to be touched on because of many reasons,” said Dassanayake but didn´t reveal them.

“We have to develop bigger players´ pool and work in developing juniors and age group players if we dream of the World Cup,” said Dassanayake. “I´ve developed a work plan for establishing National Cricket Academy (NCA) after consulting some senior players. I hope the CAN (Cricket Association of Nepal) would approve it soon,” he added.

He was reluctant to discuss the NCA details before the CAN approves it but said it is like an organization to develop second string of players.

For Dassanayake, few days inMalaysiawith the team maintaining winning streaks in the Division 4 were the most memorable days of the past 12 months. “Few days inMalaysiawere memorable as things came into place during the tournament,” said Dassanayake.

Despite of all the successes, he takes upcoming ACC Trophy Elite as the reality check of his side. “Things are moving well for us and the ACC Trophy would be the real time to check our standard against quality team likeAfghanistan, the UAE,Hong KongandOman, who are above us in ranking,” said Dassanayake.

(Source: REPUBLICA)

Region No 3 (Kathmandu) set up semifinal clash against Armed Police Force (APF) while Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) set up another semifinal clash against Region No 6 (Baitadi) in the Wai Wai Women’s National T20 Cricket Tournament being held here in Pokahara.

Rekha BC of Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) receives player-of-the-match trophy from Hemanta Kafle, the secretary of Kathmandu District Cricket Association.

APF had already qualified from the group B winning all four matches and Nepalgunj confirmed the runner-up position in the group on Sunday as it defeated Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by 65 runs at the Pokhara Stadium. Nepalgunj put up 114/4 in 20 overs as Geeta Gosai scored 29 runs and Mamta Thapa added 24 runs. Sanju Chaudhary (13 runs) and Nary Thapa (unbeaten 17 runs) were the other major contributors.

In reply, Biratnagar was limited to 49/7 in 20 overs. Rashmi Chaulagain remained unbeaten with 18 runs but Biratnagar could not progress as wickets kept on falling at the other end.

RekhaBC claimed three wickets for Nepalgunj and was adjudged player-of-the-match.

Shova Aale of Region No 7 (Janakpur) receives player-of-the-match trophy from Cricket Coach Jagat Tamatta.
Photos Courtesy:CAN

Had Nepalgunj lost to Biratnagar, Region No 7 (Janakpur) had chance to advance with a win. However, Janakpur’s 82-run victory over Region No 8 (Pokhara) went in vain as Nepalgunj won its match on Sunday. Player-of-the-match Shova Ale scored 56 runs to guide Janakpur to 133/4 in 20 overs. Later, Pokhara could reach only 51 runs in 20 overs losing three wickets.

Nepalgunj will face group A winner Baitadi in the semifinal.

Baitadi confirmed berth in last four as it beat Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) by 23 runs on Sunday at the Nagar Bikash Ground in Pokhara.

Baitadi put up 75/6 in 20 overs as Roshani Bohara scored 26 runs off 46 balls. In reply, Bhairahawa was all out for 52 runs in 18 overs. Asna Thapa (11 runs) was the highest contributor for Bhairahawa as it acquired 13 runs from extras.

Bohara put up all round performance for Baitadi and claimed three wickets to clinch player-of-the-match trophy.

Kathmandu finished second on the group A behind Baitadi to face APF in the semifinal.Kathmanduthrashed Region No 2 (Birgunj) by 52 runs on Sunday. Electing to bat, Kathmandu put up 110/9 in 20 overs as Birgunj bowlers performed pathetic giving away 48 extras. On the other hand, Sangita Gauchan (21 runs), Geeta Chudal (unbeaten 19 runs) and Roji Rai (12 runs) contributed to put up a good total. In reply, Birgunj could reach only 58 runs in 17.1 overs losing all the wickets. Player-of-the-match Sangeeta Gauchan and Kamala Rai claimed two wickets each to restrict Birgunj while Geeta Chudal, Sajani Shrestha, Shilu Rijal and Shraddha Aryal claimed a wicket each. Nisha Giri scored 14 runs while Mamata Chaulagain added 12 runs for Birgunj.

Both the semifinals will be played on Tuesday.

Already qualified for the semifinal, Armed Police Force (APF) maintained its cent percent winning streak and emerged the winning of group B on Saturday with a 64 run thrashing over Region No 7 (Janakpur) in the Wai Wai Women’s National T20 Cricket Tournament being held in Pokhara.

Sita Rana Magar of APF receives player-of-the-match from CAN Member Naresh Shrestha.
Photo Courtesy:CAN

In course of inflicting second defeat to Janakpur and achieving its fourth straight win, the player of the match declared Sita Rana Magar smashed 49 off 55 for APF that garnered 121\4. Rubina Chhetri was unbeaten for 26 runs and Sarita Magar (16) was the other player to contribute double digit figure for the departmental team which is competing in the women’s national cricket for the first time being organized by Cricket Association of Nepal.

In its run chase, Janakpur was bowled out for 57/8 as Binu Buda Magar claimed three scalps and Sarita Magar two. Mamta Chaudhary (17) and Shova Ale (15) were the only batswomen to collect two digit figures for Janakpur.

Region No 6 (Baitadi), Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) and Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) also won their respective group matches on Saturday.

Baitadi inched closer to the semifinal from group A as it pulled second consecutive victory from as many matches played. Baitadi registered a comfortable five wicket win over Region No 3 (Kathmandu) to hand its first defeat that opted to bat first.

With three wickets from Roshani Bohara and two wickets each from Rekha Rawal and Chetana Bohara Baitadi bundled out Kathmandu for low total of 43 runs in 19.1 over. In reply, Baitadi easily surpassed the target in 13.3 overs losing five wickets.

Sangeeta Gauchan (6) was the highest scorer for Kathmandu that got extra 15 runs. Roshani Bohara scored 20 off 25 for Baitadi to pave the way for victory. Roshani Bohara was declared the player of the match.

Bhairahawa achieved its first win from group A defeating Region No 2 (Birgunj) by seven wickets. Birgunj that elected to bat first was all out for 81 runs in18.4 overs. Skipper Manisha Chaulagain top scored with 17 runs for Birgunj that got extra 37 runs.

Skipper Indu Berma, Pooja Bhandari, Sudha Thapa and Soniya Bhandari of Bhairahawa shared two wickets each in their names. Berma declared the player of the match was unbeaten on 20 runs for the winning team which made 82 in 12.3 overs. Saraswati Pun (19) was the second highest scorer for Bhairahawa that got 31 extra runs.

In group B match, Nepalgunj thumped Region No 8 (Pokhara) by 87 runs to inflict third defeat from as many matches played. Batting first Nepalgunj made 130/3 and bowled out Pokhara for 43/8. Nepalgunj’s total was built on 37 runs of Manisha Rawal and 36 runs of Sanju Chaudhary. Thishna Singh was unbeaten for 15 runs and Geeta Gosai (13) was the other player to contribute double figure. Besides this, Nepalgunj got extra 27 runs.

In Pokhara’s run chase Sushila Gurung (11) was the only batswomen to reach double figure. Trishna Singh pocketed three wickets of Pokhara and Rekha BC took two. Trishna Singh was declared the player of the match.

Armed Police Force (APF) entered into the semifinals of the Wai Wai Women’s National T20 Cricket Tournament after pulling consecutive third victory on Friday.

APF defeated Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by 45 runs on Friday at the Nagar Bikash Ground, Pokhara.

APF elected to bat and put up 90/8 in 20 overs. Though Neera Rajopadhyaya (19 runs off 28 balls) and Sita Rana Magar (15 runs off 25 balls) were the only APF batswomen to score in double-digits, APF reached the modest total of 90 runs as Biratnagar bowled 25 extras. Neha Karki, Rashmi Chaulagain, Sabina Shrestha and Anu Agrawal took two wickets each for Biratnagar.

Rekha Rawal of Region No 6 Baitadi receives player-of-the-match trophy from CAN Member Amrita Poudel.
Photo Courtesy:CAN

In reply, Biratnagar was bowled out for 45 runs in 15.1 overs. Ambika Buddhathoki (7 runs) and Shikha Shrestha (7 runs) were the major contributors behind 18 extras bowled by APF.

Sonu Khadka, Rubina Chhetri and Karuna Bhandari claimed two wickets each for APF. APF captain Rajopadhyaya was adjudged player-of-the-match.

APF has six points from three matches while Biratnagar, Region No 7 (Janakpur) and Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) have two points each in the group B of the tournament.

Nepalgunj garnered two points on Friday as it defeated Janakpur by five wickets. Janakpur elected to bat but bundled out for 45 runs in 17.5 overs. Nepalgunj would have to chase smaller target, had not its bowlers bowled 10 extras. Mamta Chaudhary, Trishna Singh, Samjhana Sharma and Nery Thapa took two wickets each for Nepalgunj.

Player-of-the-match Singh scored 12 runs of 40 balls and Janakpur gave away 15 extras to make Nepalgunj victory easier. Nepalgunj met the target in 17.1 overs losing five wickets.

In group A, Region No 6 (Baitadi) and Region No 3 (Kathmandu) won their respective matches at the Pokhara Stadium on Friday.

Baitadi crushed Region No 2 (Birgunj) by 64 runs. Electing to bat, Baitadi put up 132/5 in 20 overs as Rekha Rawal scored 56 runs off 50 balls and Roshani Bohara added 32 runs off 46 balls.  Birgunj bowled 22 extras.

Player-of-the-match Rawal showing her all-round brilliance took four wickets to restrict Birgunj at 68/8 in 20 overs. Rachana Aryal (15 runs) and Manish Chaulagain (unbeaten 14 runs) were the major contributors for Birgunj.

Likewise,Kathmanduedged past Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) by 32 runs. Electing to bat,Kathmanduput up 111/3 in 20 overs. Shilu Rijal (26 runs), Sangeeta Gauchan (unbeaten 22 runs), Rabina Bhandari (unbeaten 22 runs) and Roji Rai (14 runs) were the major contributors forKathmandu.

In reply, Bhairahawa was bowled out for 79 runs with a over remaining. Nitu Bhandari (14 runs) and Indu Berma (15 runs) were the major contributors for Bhairahawa. Geeta Chudal picked three wickets while player-of-the-match Sangeeta Gauchan claimed two wickets for Kathmandu.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) hands over player-of-the-match trophy to APF player Rubina Chhetri
Photo Courtesy: CAN

Armed Police Force (APF) pulled consecutive victory in the Wai Wai Women’s National T20 Cricket Tournament as it thrashed Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) by 53 runs at the Pokhara Satadium on Thursday. Meanwhile, Region No 1 (Biratnagar) pulled a thrilling 4-run victory over the host Region No 8 (Pokhara) at the Nagar Bikash Ground, Pokhara.

APF elected to bat and put up 91/5 in 20 overs. In reply, Nepalgunj was bowled out at 38 runs in 16.2 overs. Sita Rana Magar (34 runs off 64 balls) and Rubina Chhetri (15 runs off 14 balls) anchored the APF innings. Nepalgunj bowlers gave away 22 runs as extras, including 20 wides. Trishna Singh took two wickets for Nepalgunj.

Chasing the modest total, Nepalgunj, led by Nary Thapa, failed to resist APF bowling attack. Mamta Thapa (unbeaten 10 runs) was the only Nepalgunj batswoman to score in double-digits. Nepalgunj would have faced more humiliating defeat, had not APF bowled 10 extras.

Karuna Bhandari took three wickets for APF while Sonu Khadka and Sarita Magar claimed two wickets each. Magar, who had taken a hat-trick on Wednesday, bowled another magical spell. Her bowling figure against Nepalgunj was 2-0-0-2. APF’s Rubina Chhetri, who scored 15 runs and claimed a wicket, was adjudged player-of-the-match.

In another match of the day, Biratnagar elected to bat and put up 68/6 in 20 overs. Rashmi Chaulagain contributed 26 runs off 34 balls for Biratnagar while Pokhara bowled 23 extras. None of the other batswomen reached double-digit scores. Aarati Bidari and Pragya Pokharel claimed two wickets each.

In reply, Pokhara reached only 64/8 in 20 overs. Sushila Gurung (23 runs off 58 balls) and Pragya Pokhrel (15 runs off 32 balls) were the top contributors for Pokhara. Biratngar gave away 17 runs as extras. Neha Karki and player-of-the-match Rashmi Chaulagain took two wickets each. 

Sarita Magar’s magical bowling performance, including a hat-trick, sealed emphatic victory for Armed Police Force (APF) on the opening day of the Wai Wai Women’s T20 National Cricket Tournament on Wednesday in Pokhara while Region No 7 (Janakpur) also registered a win.

APF thrashed host Region No 8 (Pokhara) by 10 wickets at the Pokhara Stadium while Janakpur defeated Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by 34 runs at the Nagar Bikash Ground.

At the Pokhara Stadium, Region 8 Pokhara elected to bat first but Magar’s magical spell restricted it at 31/9 in 20 overs. Magar took four wickets including a hat-trick. She bowled only two overs, including a maiden over, and giving away only one run.

APF bowler Sarita Magar receives player-of-the-match trophy from Lal Babu Prasad of Chaudhary Group and CAN Treasurer Raju Babu Shrestha.
Photo Courtesy: CAN

Magar bowled out Priya Gurung in the fourth ball of the 19th over, trapped Alisha Acharya LBW in the next ball and bowled Rejika Bhandari in the last ball of the over to complete her hat-trick. It was the first hat-trick performance in domestic tournaments of women.

Rubina Chhetri and Karuna Bhandari claimed two wickets each while Sonu Khadka claimed a wicket.

Captain Aarati Bidari was the top-scorer for Pokhara with eight runs off 20 balls. APF girls gave away 13 runs as extras.

APF chased the low total in 2.5 overs. Madhu Thapa remained unbeaten with nine runs and Sita Rana Magar scored 13 runs for securing 10-wicket victory to APF. Pokhara’s bowlers gave away 10 extras to make APF victory easier.

Sarita Magar was adjudged player-of-the-match for her brilliant bowling performance.

At the Nagar Bikash Ground, electing to bat Janakpur put up 75/7 in 20 overs and bowled out Biratnagar at 41 runs in 18.5 overs.

Player-of-the-match Mamta Chaudhary contributed 19 runs off 27 balls for Janakpur but other batswomen could not reach double-digit scores. Extras also contributed Janakpur with great deal as Biratnagar bowlers gave away 19 extras.

Anu Agrawal took three wickets while Ambika Buddhathoki claimed a wicket for Biratnagar. Three batswomen of Janakpur were short of the crease.

Biratnagar suffered catastrophic run-outs while chasing the target. Five of its batswomen were run out. On the other hand, Kritu Dahal took two wickets while Santoshi Chaudhary, Anuradha Chaudhary and Kabita Gautam claimed a wicket each for Janakpur to unsettle Biratnagar.

Captain Rashmi Chaulagain (14 runs off 32 balls) was the only Biratnagar’s batswomen to score in double digits. The loss could have been more humiliating, had not Janakpur bowlers gave away 12 runs as extras.

Bandula Warnapura is Asian Cricket Council’s Development Manager. He assumed the post in July 2008, taking care of development plans in 18 ACC member nations. The first ever captain for Sri Lanka in Tests and ODIs, Bandula has held various administrative jobs in Sri Lankan cricket. He was on a visit to Kathmandu recently. Binod Pandey and Somesh Verma, from NepalCricket caught up with him. Excerpts of the interview:

NepalCricket: Last time we interviewed you, almost 3 years ago, you talked about CAN needing to have structural changes. Things are not happening that way, are they?

Bandula: I agree. They haven’t developed the way they should have. I want the ground in Mulpani to be ready in six months. We’ve seen pavilion coming up. No point having pavilion if you don’t have grounds. Most important thing in cricket is the ground. Dressing room is designed to change your clothing to play. But here, you have pavilion. You change your clothing, but do what? The objective should’ve been to develop the ground to play cricket. That’s what we need now. I don’t say it should have been on a grand scale, at the level of international stadium. But you must be able to play a few matches. So, that’s what we need now. It’s a good thing that they’ve started a gym, at TU ground.

Not that the things are not happening. But they’re not happening at the pace that we expected. By now we’ve said that there must be a ground. They’ve started on the ground but there are some difficulties about the drainage. Birgunj has a ground and that needs to develop as well. Your senior Vice President is from that region. From what I hear, there’s another region which is giving you lots of players. The government has located a ground to put up a stadium. Let’s see by the end of this year or early next year, we can get this ground going. Pokhara, they’ve done a bit, but not complete. But Pokhara doesn’t have much cricket. The idea should be to give basic facilities needed in the area that’s giving your cricketers. It’s incentive for them to do much better.

NepalCricket: What do you think CAN should have done and it did not do?

Bandula: They must look at the team. There’s no point having 15 people in the CAN where only two or three are active. So the people who are active, people who are capable should work as a team. We know sub-committees are there, so they must start working. We have to push from our side to make sure they utilize the funds they get from ICC. You all need facilities. That is number one. Your U-19 team has played in the World Cup. Your senior team is doing well in WCL. So what you need now is, keep on giving them the infrastructure that they need.

NepalCricket: Last time you talked with us, you said that all the people who work in CAN are voluntary. You said we needed professionals running it.

Bandula: Well, actually professionals are there. There are certain positions where you need professionals. You have professional as the national coach. But you don’t have a permanent manager in the national team. So you need a manager. It’s not about a case of giving chance to CAN officials in every tour, it is not going to serve your purpose. You got to have a permanent manager who will work with the national coach, who will represent CAN on a long term basis. Same thing with the U-19 team. You got to have a coach under the national coach. You got to have the manager under the national manager. That’s the long term plans you need to have.

NepalCricket: You had also talked about having CEO and accountant at CAN.

Bandula: There is an accountant now. Accounts are done by monitoring the templates and account sheets, and the audit report is coming in. It’s about utilizing the funds you have in the right manner. We are monitoring that part, in fact. That’s done every year, every six months. The money coming in, yes, we monitor that. But only to see whether you are getting the benefits of the investment you’re doing. The return you’re going to get in investment without long term and permanent and qualified people, you’ll not get that. It is not about keeping the people in the association happy. It is about how you develop the game.

In your country you have two games: Football and Cricket. So, everybody wants to join the association because they want to go for tour. It is not what you want. Go on tours, along with development of cricket and your performance.

NepalCricket: Is ACC supporting the CAN enough?

Bandula: That you must tell us. CAN should say whether we’re supporting them enough or not. We can’t say. We have 18 countries. We can’t be supporting only CAN in a special way. We’ve our management. We look at it at the end of the year. They will say, did you all mistreat CAN or gave them special favors or did you not give CAN what you’re giving other countries. All these 18 countries are our children.

NepalCricket: But CAN is not getting any event.

Bandula: You have a problem of crowd control. You had a problem with crowd control in ICC event. Now we still want to play one more tournament if possible here in 2013. And educate you police, public everybody that if you misbehave, you’re going to lose these. It is a security international issue. We need your support, the media support in this.

NepalCricket: Has CAN done enough to assure you of security?

Bandula: They’ve given us an assurance. But we must see it practically. Therefore, media especially needs to educate the people who are coming to watch the match. They were annoyed with their own team, that’s why they did that. But you can’t do that. The number one thing here is your support.

NepalCricket: How do you think CAN can actually ensure that?

Bandula: The security people should not be looking at the ground. They should be looking at the crowd. If something starts, they should immediately go control that. One person can start, but it can be contained there.

We are coming in. Along with CAN we want to work with the spectators, with police, security, educating them how to control the crowd. We have to give leaflets to them, telling them about it.

NepalCricket: Was that the reason Nepal lost hosting World Cricket League Division 4?

Bandula: Yeah. ICC is asking us if we can assure. So we are asking CAN if they can assure us of crowd behavior. CAN said ‘yes we can’, but we have to do it and show them as quickly as possible, so that they don’t have that fear.

NepalCricket: Are you confident about it?

Bandula: Yes. I come from Sri Lanka, where we had war. During those times when we had cricket matches, we never had problems. Everybody liked cricket. In your country too, people love cricket that’s why 15,000 people are coming to watch cricket matches. But they have to keep that discipline. That’s why we want to educate them.

NepalCricket: A lot of changes have happened in CAN in last one year. How do you view it?

Bandula: Changes happen for good. People believe that they must have a change that’s why they happen. The new team hasn’t even worked for one year. They need six months to learn what had gone wrong, six months to put it right and keep on doing it. So we need to give them another year. We have no problems from CAN. They’ve been getting ACC funds and also from ICC. They had a problem as the person who was doing accounts was changed. New person did not know the system. We’ve trained them, educated them now. Things have started working. Thing on our part is to educate them.

NepalCricket: We’ve always been talking about the number of matches our players get to play, which is very less.

Bandula: That’s what you need to look into. You must decide exactly how many matches and what type of matches you need to play. Go on tours to India, which is close-by. You don’t need Visa to go there, rather than looking for far away destinations. If you play cricket in India, you will improve. There may be people who want to go to other countries, not that it will not help, but it will cut down your cost. Going to India would be much more effective in terms of money you spend.

NepalCricket: So, when is the next event being held in Nepal?

Bandula: We haven’t had development meeting. When we have it, we will decide on it. Nepal has a chance, but we need your support to educate the public. If you have any behavior problem from the crowd, I don’t think any event will come here. It’s bad luck.

Nepali national cricket team has set a new target of earning One-Day status after clinching ICC World Cricket League Division 4 trophy held in Malaysia.

Nepal put up an all-round performance and won all the six matches of Division 4 to ensure promotion to Division 3. Cricketers and coach PubuduDassanayake not only applauded each other for the brilliant performances but also revealed their new target on their arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport on Tuesday.

Nepali Cricket team poses for photo with ICC World Cricket League Division 4 trophy at the Tribhuwan International Airport on Sept 11, 2012.

“Our World Cup hope is back on track now after the victory in Malaysia. We equally have chance of playing T20 World Cup,” said Captain ParasKhadka. “We have to aim for World Cup Qualifiers now. We should at least earn One-Day status reaching there,” he added.

Coach Dassanayake also claimed that Nepal is a better side than any team in Division 3 and Division 2.

“For me, Nepal is almost on par to teams in Division 1. Players should have this belief,” said Dassanayake. “Boys had similar self belief in Malaysia and we succeeded in winning the trophy,” he added.

The coach termed the Division 4 victory as a special one. “We didn´t give any opportunities to our opponents, putting up solid performance in every department. We defeated the USA twice,” said Dassanayake.

“However, it was nothing new for me as I was aware about the potential of these boys. The good thing is that every player stood up to their potential,” he added.

Captain Khadka credited coach Dassanayake´s strategies and build-up process behind the Division 4 success. “Coach has developed a strategy to engage players in cricketing activities regularly.

He sent me to Canada. Shakti Gauchan to train with Rajasthan Royals. GyanendraMalla, SharadVesawkar and Anil Mandal were sent to India for training. AmriBhattarai and Chandra Saud got chances to play in U-23 league of Sri Lanka,” said Khadka.

“All these international exposures brought positive changes in the team. It provided us with mental toughness and helped us believe in ourselves,” he added.

 Fans welcome heroes

Meanwhile, around 200 Nepali cricket fans were huddled at the parking lot at the Tribhuvan International Airport with garlands in their hands on Tuesday morning.

As the national team captain Paras Khadka and his team emerged out of the international terminal with the glittering ICC World Cricket League Division 4 trophy at noon, the fans went into a frenzy cheering and shouting for their star players.

Television cameras rushed to capture the moment as National Sports Council Member Secretary Yubaraj Lama, Cricket Association Nepal (CAN) General Secretary Ashok Nath Pyakuryal and other officials gave them a hearty welcome. The players were soon seen sharing their experiences with the media persons gathered there.

The thumping of drums and the sonorous tunes of the traditional panchebaaza turned the whole atmosphere festive as fans danced and sang to their heart´s content.

“It was a real excitement to welcome the national team that has brought home glory,” said Birat Raya, who heads the Nepali Cricket Fan Club. “It took almost an hour for the players to emerge out of the terminal but none of the fans budged an inch before the players came out,” he added.

The cricketers´ joy knew no bounds, too. “This is the heartiest welcome I have received in my cricketing career,” said Binod Das, former team captain. “It really feels good that our performance has been appreciated,” he added.

Nepali national team had won the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 trophy on Monday in Malaysia defeating USA by 8 wickets in the final. Nepal won all the six matches of the tournament to win the trophy and to ensure its berth in Division 3.

Nepal became the champion of the World Cricket League Division 4, it’s biggest success so far, beating USA in the final by 8 wickets at Kinrara Academy, Malaysia.

Nepal displayed a most convincing batting performance to back up the brilliant bowling performance to chase USA’s 145 within 28 overs with 8 wickets intact. Continue reading →

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and Wai-Wai, the instant noodle product of CG Foods, inked on the contract paper of sponsoring Nepali U-19 cricket for next five years.

CG Foods announced a sponsorship of Rs 21 million for the period amidst a signing ceremony in the capital on Monday. Cricket Association of Nepal President Tanka Aangbuhang and Chaudhary Group’s Managing Director Nirvan Chaudhary signed the MoU on Monday.

Nirvana Chaudhary, the managing director of Chaudhary Group and Cricket Association of Nepal Tanka Aangbuhang exchange agreement papers of sponsorship during the signing ceremony in Kathmandu on Monday.

As per the contract, CAN will invest Rs 1.8 million every year for organizing National U-19 Tournament for boys’ and Rs 900,000 for the girls’ tournament. Likewise, Rs 1.5 million will be spent every year on the regional tournaments, cash prizes as well as on the international participation of U-19 teams.

CG Foods has been supporting Nepali cricket since 2005 as the sponsor of different age-group tournaments and teams.

“This type of support from corporate sector would energize Nepali cricket fraternity,” said CAN general secretary Ashok Nath Pyakuryal. “Stepping on such support, we can expect Nepali cricket team producing more joyful results like in Division 4, Malaysia,” he added.

CAN President Aangbuhang claimed that cricket is the only team game in Nepal which can expect participation in the World Cup and thanked CG Foods for supporting Nepali Cricket.

Chaudhary Group’s MD Nirvan Chaudhary said that brand like Wai-Wai feel extremely honored to continue support in Nepali cricket. “Cricket is so popular in Nepal that it has been serving as a tool of national unity,” said Chaudhary.

National Sports Council Member Secretary and the chief-guest of the signing ceremony Yuvaraj Lama said that the state authority has been planning to invest on developing infrastructure for the cricket. He also asked corporate sector to support other sports along with popular sports like cricket.

Anil Mandal scored a century as Nepal continued its dream run with fifth victory in a row in the World Cricket League Division 4 to reach the final and qualify for the Division 3.

On rain-affected day, helped by Anil’s 113 Nepal scored 240 in 50 overs and restricted Denmark to 130 for 9 in 31 overs for a 25-run victory on D/L methods. Continue reading →