Cricket Nepal (Archive)

As the action intensified in Kuala Lumpur, day three of Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 saw Nepal record a 190-run victory over Singapore. On a big-hitting day, Nepal scored 263 for nine and then dismissed Singapore for 73.

In the showcase match of the day, a knock of 114 by 24-year-old Gyanendra Malla sealed a resounding 190-run victory for Nepal over Singapore in front of a large and vocal crowd at Bayeumas.

Coming in on the third ball of the day, man of the match Malla struck 13 fours and one six, sharing a 73-run second-wicket partnership with Naresh Budhaayer (29) and a fourth-wicket stand of 92 with Sharad Vesawkar (25).

After posting the first century of the tournament, Malla was dismissed in the 44th over, after which Nepal lost five wickets in four overs to reach a total of 263 for nine, the highest team total of the tournament to date.

Amjad Mehboob was Singapore’s leading wicket-taker, claiming four wickets for 47 in nine overs, while Darmichand Mulewa claimed three for 31 and Anish Paraam took two for 66.

In reply, Singapore lost opener Arjun Mutreja, the highest run-scorer in the tournament before today’s matches, for five runs in the second over. Coming in at number three, Chetan Suryawanshi top-scored with 15, as Nepal’s Sompal Kami and Amrit Bhattarai regularly claimed wickets to leave the side reeling at six for 41 in 10.4 overs. Left-armer Basant Regmi finished off the tail end, returning extraordinary figures of four wickets for six runs from 5.4 overs, with Sompal Kami claiming four for 41 and Amrit Bhattarai bagging two for 19.

Nepal skipper Paras Khadka was delighted with his side’s efforts: “I think it was an amazing performance overall from the boys. Hopefully it is the first of many to come in the remaining matches in the tournament. We’ve lost one game and had two victories, so it’s not over for us. We need to go out there and perform strongly.”

The captain said Malla’s man of the match performance was well deserved. “Gyanendra played very, very well. He’s been an amazing player for Nepal, but he’d not made three figures before. I think there’s a lot more to come from him. The bowlers followed up, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

The first day of Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 has seen Uganda secure a 20-run victory over defending champion Nepal. At the Kinrara Oval, Uganda scored 203 for eight and then dismissed Nepal for 183.

In the main feature of the day, a 137-run sixth-wicket partnership between Phillemon Mukobe (84) and Brian Masaba (51) helped Uganda recover from 23 for five in 13.3 overs to 203 for eight in 50 overs after it had been put into bat by Nepal.

Mukobe’s 102-ball innings included six fours and three sixes, while Masaba’s 81-ball innings was studded with five fours. Tailenders Jonathan Ssebanja (20 not out) and Deusdedit Muhumuza (12 not out) added valuable runs in the end.

For Nepal, skipper Paras Khadka took three for 34, while Sompal Kami and Basant Regmi claimed two wickets apiece conceding 29 and 32 runs, respectively.

Nepal, led by top scorer Naresh Budhaayer (62), started its chase briskly but lost its way in the middle as it collapsed from 103 for two to 183 all out in 48.5 overs, including four wickets in the final two overs.

Uganda’s Davis Arinaitwe was the most successful bowler, returning figures of four for 33, included the prized scalp of Budhaayer who fell in the 38th over of the innings after hitting four fours and a six in a 122-ball innings.

Arinaitwe was ably supported by Roger Mukasa, who finished with three for 28 in four overs, while Jonathan Sebanja bagged two for 28 in 8.5 overs.

Uganda skipper Frank Nsubuga was pleased with the result, and reflected: “The camp is feeling much better, after recovering from about 25 for five and coming back and scoring 200 – the boys worked so hard. I think they did a good job.”

The skipper believed that his side’s fielding outshone any individual performances on the day. “I think fielding is our strength. In this tournament, you have to field well to lift the trophy.”

A disappointed Nepal captain Paras Khadka said: “We started well, but I think they put on a very good partnership, and we just couldn’t finish it off. Unfortunately, these kinds of games, we should be able to finish them off. But this is the first game of the tournament, the tournament is still wide open, and we need to rectify our mistakes and move forward and come back strong.

“Our bowling was pretty good, but they were 23 for five, and then they put on a very good partnership. Still, chasing 204 shouldn’t have been that hard on that wicket, but unfortunately our batters just couldn’t finish it off. Everyone got slow starts, and we just couldn’t convert. If one of the batsman had converted, I think the result would have been different.”

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has appointed Bhawana Ghimire as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Likewise, it has also appointed Prakash Maharjan as the finance manager.

The decision comes 10 months after a directive by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

According to acting general secretary of CAN Uttam Karmacharya, both will assume their duties from October 18.

CAN has appointed them for a six month term. While Ghimire will be paid a monthly salary of Rs 75, 000, Maharjan will be paid Rs 50,000. CAN had interviewed them in presence of ICC representatives two months ago.

ICC and ACC officials had directed NSC Member Secretary Lama to appoint CEO and finance manager at the CAN without delay.

Afghan jinx continued to haunt Nepal, as it failed to beat the arch-rivals again. Team Nepal lost to Afghanistan in the quarterfinals of 17th Asian Games Men’s cricket competition, by 8 runs, in Incheon, South Korea on Wednesday.

The loss meant that Nepal crashed out of the 17th Asian Games.

Chasing 120-run target set by Afghanistan, Nepal could only make 111 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs.

Except Binod Bhandari (48) and Gyanendra Malla (30), none of the batsmen spent much time on the crease for Nepal. For Afghanistan, Fareed Ahmad grabbed four Nepali wickets. Afghan skipper Mohammed Nabi gave away just 12 runs in his 4-over spell.

Nepal needed a solid start to upset the Afghan team but Nepali chase did not begin very well as Naresh Budhayer was run out in the second over itself, with just 10 on board. Subash Khakurel didn’t last long, becoming the first victim of Fareed Ahmed. Paras Khadka came in to bat his regular No 4 position, but could never get going and was stumped off Samullah Senawari in the 7^th over. Paras had used up 13 deliveries for his single run. The score then read 30.

Gyanendra Malla came after the skipper’s fall and got the scoreboard moving with Binod Bhandari. They had a 54-run partnership and Nepali win looked likely. When Bhandari was out for 48 (off 40 deliveries), giving away a thin edge to the keeper off Fareed, Nepal needed 36 runs off 32 deliveries. But things changed quickly as Sharad Vesawkar – the next man in – was run out trying to steal a single as Fareed was appealing for a lbw. With two wickets in quick succession, Nepal lost the momentum.

The required run rate kept climbing and Nepali batsmen could not keep pace.

Earlier, Afghanistan had put up 119, as Nepali bowlers showed some consistency on a pitch that had variable bounce. Nepali bowlers took 9 of the Afghan wickets in 20 overs.

Mohammad Shahzad top scored with 42 runs for Afghanistan while Mohammad Nabi, Qaseem Khan, Samiullah Shenwari and Gulbadin Naib contributed 18, 12, 11,11 runs.

Shakti Gauchan (3 for 21) and Sagar Pun (3 for 24) took three wickets each while Sompal Kami and Basanta Regmi grabbed a wicket apiece.

Nepali bowling earned it an emphatic win over Kuwait in its first match at the 17^th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Basant Regmi and Sompal Kami, with three wickets each, starred in the 9-wicket victory for Nepal.

Nepali players only managed to reach at the match venue hours before the match was scheduled to begin. Despite the delay in flight, twice, Nepali players hardly showed any fatigue in dismissing the Kuwait team for a paltry 20 runs in 13.2 overs. Nepal lost a wicket of Sagar Pun to achieve the target in 17 deliveries.

Sagar Pun scored the highest nine runs for Nepal (2 fours), while Subash Khakurel (7-run off 4-ball) and Binod Bhandari (5-run off 6-ball) remained unbeaten.

Earlier, Kuwait decided to bat after winning the toss at the Yeonhui Cricket Ground in Incheon. Sompal Kami bowled with some fire to take 3 wickets. He gave away 3 runs in his 4-over spell. Things were better in the middle overs for Kuwait as Basant Regmi took 3 wickets, conceding just 1 run, in his spell that lasted 8 balls.

5 Kuwait batsmen failed to open accounts, while 3 scored just a single run. None could reach double digit score. Needless to say, this was best bowling for Regmi and Kami in their T20 career. Sagar Pun also pocketed two wickets for Nepal.

Nepal captain Paras Khadka gave credit to his bowlers for the win. “We are happy with the win and it is necessary for us to keep the same momentum against Maldives as that match will not be easy for us,” he said.

Kuwait coach Mohammed Husain conceded that his team could not be compared to Nepal. “We are new in international cricket and this is just a beginning for us,” Husain said. Under Olympic rules, participating country has to play only local players in its team, which explains the sorry scorecard for Kuwait.

Nepal will play against Maldives on Sunday in its second match of the Group B.

Nepal has clinched the title that had eluded it for so long. The Nepali boys won the ACC U-16 Premier title defeating Malaysia by 32 runs in Malaysia today. 

The jubiliant Nepal U-16 team after winning the ACC U-16 Premier.
Photo courtesy: ACC

The U-16 was the only tournament Nepal had not won so far in the age group cricket tournament at the ACC level. Earlier, Nepal had finished runner-up of the ACC U-16 Elite Cups twice, in 2010 in Nepal and in 2012 in Malaysia.

Chasing the 163-run target set by Nepal, Malaysia could only manage 129 runs in 36 overs, losing all the wickets. 

Earlier, Nepal posted 161 for 9, after host Malaysia opted to field first, winning the toss at Kinrara Oval in Kaula Lumpur.  Pawan Sarraf and Rabindra Jung Shahi came up with crucial knock in Nepal’s total which suffered an early setback in batting.

Nepal’s start was disappointing as it lost opener Sushant Singh Thapa (9 runs off 18 balls) in the 5.4 overs with 15 runs on the board. Rabi Chand (7) was also sent to pavilion in the 11.5 overs by Muhammad Haziq providing an early shock to Nepal. But the other opener Mahamad Asif Sheikh (20 runs of 55 balls) and Rabindra Jung Shahi (34-run off 57-balls) shared an important 40-run partnership for the third wicket to give Nepali innings some momentum. Mahamad smashed three fours while Rabindra smashed two.

Nepal had lost six wickets in the 30th over with 94 runs on board, but Jitendra Singh (13 from 21-ball) and Pawan Sarraf (44 off 26) shared highest 56 runs partnership for the seventh wicket. The man-of-the-match Pawan cracked two sixes and four fours in his 26-ball knock to put Nepal in comfort zone.

“This was a big match and boys were a bit nervous so we had a slow start but they played like professional cricketers and we put some fighting total on the board,” said Coach Raju Basnyat.

Muhammad Islah Muhaimin bagged four wickets in his eight over spell giving away 32 runs, while Muhammad Hazq and Mohamad Shahriel Aizat claimed two wickets each for Malaysia.

Defending the target, Nepal’s fielding was tight as it bowled out Malaysia for 129 runs in 36.2 overs. Four Malaysian batsmen lost wickets to run outs.

Malaysian opener batsmen Virandeep Singh (5) and Mohammad Ikhwan Faiz (8) were run out in the fourth and 11th overs. Then Jitendra Singh got two important wickets of Mohamad Shaihriel Aizat (10) and Shauvinder Singh (10). Malaysia’s highest scorer Muhammad Fadli Haris (34 off 32) became Rijan Dhakal’s victim. Ashish Pokhrel and Sumit Maharjan bagged a wicket each to give Nepal historic victory in the age group tournament.

“Our fielding was superb today as boys got four run-outs and spinners bowling was again good today that made us champion,” said elated coach Basnyat after the victory.

Nepal won all five matches of the tournament held in round robin format among the six non test playing nations.

Earlier, Nepal had won ACC U-15 twice, ACC U-17 once, and ACC U-19 four times.

Meanwhile, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has announced to reward Rs 20,000 to each member of the team.

Nepal U-16 team lifting the ACC U-16 Premier title.
Pic courtesy: ACC

Nepal will be looking to claim the only title that has eluded it so far in age-group cricket when it takes on host Malaysia in its last match of the ACC U-16 Premier cricket tournament on Wednesday. Nepali boys’ confidence is high after four back to back wins.

Nepal is only a point away from being crowned champion as it leads the table with eight points from four matches, with Malaysia second on seven points. 

The match, at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur, is effectively the final of the tournament. 

Nepal’s new bowling sensation, Anil Pokhrel, during earlier match at ACC U-16 Premier 2014. Pic courtesy: ACC

The U-16 tournament is the only age-group competition Nepal has not won so far. However, Nepal is aiming to create history by winning the title this time around and also to take revenge of the one-wicket defeat in the final of the ACC U-16 Elite Cup held in Malaysia two years ago.

Nepal and Malaysia have played three matches before at the U-16 level — all of them in the ACC U-16 Elite Cup — with Nepal winning two matches and Malaysia one.

Nepal defeated Malaysia in the 2010 Elite Cup semifinals. It also defeated Malaysia in the group stage of the 2012 Elite Cup, but lost to the same opponent in the final of the tournament.

Nepal opened its ACC U-16 Premier campaign with 10-wicket thrashing of Thailand before beating Singapore by 49 runs. The Nepali team then extended its winning run in imperious fashion, crushing Oman by 102 runs and Bahrain by 186 runs.

Malaysia shared points with Bahrain in its opener but won the next three matches.

Nepal will clinch the title even if the last match ends in a tie, while Malaysia needs to win the match to become champion.

Before leaving for Malaysia, coach Basant Shahi had said that Nepal would lift the title as it has the best spinners and a good batting line-up.

The bowlers and batsmen have proved Shahi right so far in the tournament, but their real test will be against Malaysia today.

Nepal has been granted Twenty20 international status by the ICC. The decision was taken at the ICC board at its annual conference in Melbourne on Saturday. Along with Nepal, Netherlands has also been given the status.

The ICC statement reads, “The ICC Board has agreed to grant T20I status to Nepal and the Netherlands after both the countries qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014. With this recognition, the number of associate countries enjoying T20I status climbs to eight.”

Talking to Cricket Nepal, skipper Paras Khadka congratulated everyone on the achievement. “This is a great platform for all of us. Now we should try and maintain the status. It is comparatively easier to get there. Maintaining it is hard job. All of us have to work hard for this.”

Both Nepal and Netherlands had taken part in the 2014 World T20. The other Associates that have T20I status by virtue of having ODI status are Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and UAE.

With this decision, the number of countries having T20I status reaches 18 (10 test playing nations and eight associate countries).

Meanwhile, the ICC board also confirmed the USA Cricket Association (USACA), and not its rival body the American Cricket Federation, as its recognized member in the USA. Oman Cricket has been made the 38th Associate Member of the ICC. At the same time Brunei has been suspended as an Affiliate while Tonga has been removed as an Affiliate Member for not complying with ICC norms.

It was widely expected that Nepal, along with USA and Zambia, would be given formal warnings at the annual conference. Nepal was to be reprimanded for failing to follow administration statute 2.1, which relates to having a full-time paid administrator. Both were expected to be given one more year to get their affairs in order or face suspension. However, Cricket Association of Nepal had taken out vacancy advertisements for two positions, a chief executive and a finance manager. Both the posts have not been fulfilled yet.

Nepal has qualified for the ACC Championship after a resounding seven-wicket win on Monday over Hong Kong in its penultimate match of the ACC Premier League at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Nepal’s third win in four matches put it level on six points with leader Afghanistan and third-placed Oman, with only net run rate separating the three teams. Afghanistan beat Oman by five wickets at the Kinrara Academy Oval on Monday to go top and end the latter’s winning spree in the tournament, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) climbed one spot to fourth with a six-wicket victory over Malaysia in another match.

The result ensured Afghanistan, Nepal and Oman’s qualification for the ACC Championship, the first two-day championship which is to be organized by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), scheduled for December in the UAE, with a match in hand.

The last round of matches on Wednesday will determine the group winner as well as the fourth team to qualify for the ACC Championship. Nepal will face arch-rivals Afghanistan, while Oman will take on the UAE and Malaysia will play Hong Kong.

Chasing 182 runs for victory, Nepal was set a revised target of 144 runs in 38 overs under the Duckworth Lewis method due to rain interruption at 27.4 overs. Nepal met the target in 34.1 overs losing three wickets to avenge the 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Hong Kong in World Cup Qualifiers in New Zealand this January.

Earlier, new pace sensation Sompal Kami performed brilliantly with the ball to bowl out Hong Kong for 181 runs in 41.5 overs. Nepal had won the toss and opted to bowl. Kami claimed four wickets for 34 runs in his seven overs.

Sompal’s brilliant bowling notwithstanding, Hong Kong opener and man-of-the-match Irfan Ahmed posed a serious threat to Nepal as he raced to 106 runs off 115 balls smashing 10 fours and three sixes. He was caught by Shakti Gauchan off Basanta Regmi in 42 overs as the last Hong Kong wicket to fall.

However, Irfan received little support from the others, with Waqas Barkat (16), Nizakat Khan (17), wicketkeeper skipper Jamie Atkinson (11) and Roy Lamsam (18) the only other batsmen to reach double figures.

Besides Sompal, Basanta pocketed three wickets and Aarif Sheikh two wickets in a row in the 21st over.

Though Nepal lost its wickets in the regular interval during the run chase, all batsmen came up with even contribution. Nepal’s opener Naresh Budhayer contributed 41 runs and skipper Paras Khadka scored highest 43 runs in the innings remaining unbeaten.

Other opener Subash Khakurel, dismissed for 16 runs played 38-run partnership for the first wicket with Naresh. Vice-captain Gyanendra Malla was dismissed for 15 runs as second wicket with 56 run on board.

Naresh played patient knock of 41-run 86-ball, hit six boundaries before he was caught in 25.2 over as the third wicket.

Skipper Paras and Sharad Vesawkar guided Nepal to victory remaining unbeaten. Paras hit four to Ehsan Nawaz in the first delivery of 35th over as Nepal required one run for the victory. Paras hit six fours in his 52-ball inning while Sharad scored 19 run off 33 ball.

Lifted by Sompal Kami’s first five wicket haul and Mehaboob Alam’s half century, Nepal defeated Malaysia by five wickets in the ACC Premier League on Friday at the Bayuemas Cricket Stadium, Malaysia.

This was second win for Nepal in as many matches at the tournament. Nepal had defeated ODI nation United Arab Emirates on Thursday. Two wins has consolidated Nepal’s chances of qualifying for the ACC Championship—the first two day championship to be organized by Asian Cricket Council in December—where top four teams from the current tournament will be selected.

Sompal restricted Malaysia from posting a good total by picking up three early wickets. He came back and added two more later. The hosts were restricted to 149 run in 43 overs, after opting to bat first. Sompal gave away 47 runs in his 10 overs haul while Basanta Regmi claimed two wickets.

Sompal Kami bagged his first 5-wicket haul, against Malaysia on Friday.
Photo: ICC

Anwar Arudin scored highest 34 runs for Malaysia as Shafiq Sharif (24 off 46) and Suharril Fetri (22 off 81) gave some weight to Malaysian total.

In reply, Nepal started poorly losing opener Subash Khakurel for duck in the very first over. Naresh Budayair (8), Gyanendra Malla (13) and Paras Khadka (11) also failed to perform with bat. As Malaysian veteran Suresh Navrathnam took 3 wickets, Nepal was reeling at 36 for 4, when Mehboob came in to Nepal’s rescue. Such was his dominance at one point that he had scored 33 off 20 deliveries. He managed 53 (8 boundaries) off 71, before getting run out. He forged 89 run fifth wicket partnership with Sharad Vesawkar (29 off 73). Binod Bhandari came in after his fall and managed 25-run unbeaten partnership with Sharad to drive Nepal home, with 75 balls to spare.

Nepal will take on Oman in its third match on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan managed a thumping win against UAE today. Put in to bat, Afghanistan were 172 for 4 at the 40-over mark, due to half-centuries by their openers Noor Ali Zadran and Usman Ghani. After that Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari scored 116 runs in the last eight overs to lift the total over 300. It included 11 fours and seven sixes. UAE reply was solid as the openers added 70. Amjad Ali went on to score 98 to keep them in the chase. But after his dismissal, Afghanistan romped UAE by 70 runs. Rahmat Shah picked up five wickets for Afghanistan.

Oman won their second match in a row, beating Hong Kong by nine runs in a low-scoring encounter at the Selangor Turf Club. Despite being at 57 for 6 in the 21st over, Oman reached 143 thanks to 30s from No. 8 Sultan Ahmed and No. 9 Amir Ali. Hong Kong’s top order batted as badly, and were 25 for 4 in the eighth over. Hong Kong late order tried to win the match as well, with No. 7 Ankur Sharma and No. 9 Haseeb Amjad getting in 30s. Yet Oman defeated Hong Kong by 9 runs.

National Cricket team captain Paras Khadka has been nominated in the Popular Player of the Year category of the Pulsar Sports Award for the consecutive second year along with footballer Bimal Gharti Magar, volleyball player Saraswati Chaudhary, swimmer Sofia Shah and athlete Yam Sajan Sunwar.

Nepal Sports Journalist Forum (NSJF), the organizer of the annual award, unveiled the nominations of the category on Thursday amidst a press conference.

According to Prakash Timalsina, the coordinator of the player’s selection committee and secretary of NSJF, the players were selected on the basis of their performance, achievement and popularity in the mass level during the year 2070 BS.  The winner among them will be declared on June 1 on the basis of number of SMS voting and Facebook likes.

The Sports Award including seven other categories out of which the nominees of male and female player of the year, youth player of the year and coach of the year will be declared later. There will not be nominations for the special, lifetime and para-athlete award and the winner will be declared on June 1, the award day.

The winner of popular, male and female player of the year will be awarded with a Pulsar motorbike and gift hampers while the winner of other categories will be given Rs 50,000 and gift hampers.

Meanwhile, NSJF President Ajay Phuyal and Sajan Subedi, representative of THT live signed the MoU for SMS voting which will be open for May 1 to 31. Four Facebook likes will carry the weightage of one SMS voting.

Khadka, the skipper of the national team, guided the team to ICC World T20 to remain in the limelight throughout the year. He had scored 232 runs in the World T20 Qualifiers including a half century and was listed in top 11 players by cricinfo.com, the famous cricket portal.

Khadka was the leader of the Nepali teams that played ICC World Cup Qualifiers and the ICC World T20. Khadka increased his fan base also through his way to carry himself in front of national and international media.

Nepal got off to a flying start in the ACC Premier League, registering 4-wicket win over the ODI nation United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, at the Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sompal Kami and Mehboob Alam came good with the ball, as opener Subash Khakurel played a responsible knock in Nepal’s comfortable victory, which came with 10 overs to spare. Mehboob, who made his comeback in the national team and young sensation Sompal bagged three wickets each. Subash cracked 71 runs off 91 balls.

Winning the toss, Nepal invited UAE to bat and bowled it out for 191 runs in 48.1 overs. In reply, Nepal made 195 in 39.5 overs losing six wickets. It was the second victory of Nepal over UAE. Nepal was defeated by UAE during their last encounter in ICC World Cup Qualifiers in New Zealand.

Nepal will now take on Malaysia in the competition that features six teams in the round robin format. Hong Kong, Oman and Afghanistan are other participating teams.

Subash, the 22-year old right hander batsmen, cracked 11 boundaries before he was caught by Ajmad Ali in 32^nd over. Vice-captain Gyanendra Malla (47-run 37-ball), captain Paras Khadka (30-run 40-ball) and Sharad Vesawkar (16-run 27-ball) were the notable contributors in Nepal’s run chase.

Nepal received an early jolt in the run chase losing opener Naresh Budhayer (2) with just six runs on board. But Subash and Gyanendra forged 66-run partnership for the second wicket before the latter was trapped leg before by Fayyaz Ahmed. The 25-year old right hander hit seven fours and a six in his flamboyant innings.

Gyanendra Malla batting against UAE on Thursday, May 1, 2014. He scored 57 off 37 balls.
Photo credit: ACC

Next batsman Paras hit three fours and put up 59 runs with Subash taking the score to 131. He was bowled by Samlan Faris in the 25th over. Sharad, the only other batsmen to reach double figure for Nepal, hit two boundaries before he was run out. There were no more surprises and Nepal managed the chase easily.

Fayyaz Ahmed of UAE claimed two wickets while Mohammad Naveed, Sarlan Faris and Krishnachandra Karate bagged one wicket each.

Earlier, UAE lost three wickets with 37 runs on board. But number four batsman Swapnil Patil scored 76 runs. He hit eight boundaries and two sixes in his 95-ball innings before he was run out by wicket keeper Subash.

Krishnachandra (36), Mohammad Shahzad (25), Shaiman Anwar (14) and opener Salman Faris (16) were the other players for UAE to score double digit.

The 33-yeard old Mehboob was the pick of the bowlers for Nepal giving away 21 runs in his eight over spell. Sompal gave away 39 runs in his 9.1 over spell. Shakti Gauchan took two wickets and Sagar Pun pocketed one.

In other matches of the tournament, tournament favorite Afghanistan overcame Hong Kong by six wickets with 41 balls to spare. Similarly, Oman registered 74 run win over host Malaysia.

When Team Nepal takes on UAE in its first match of ACC Premier League on Thursday at Kuala Lumpur, the team is likely to be less motivated than it was while playing its first World Cup earlier this year. It’s not because the stature of tournament is smaller. But the reason is highhandedness shown by the country’s cricket governing body, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), to its head coach, Pubudu Dassanayake. And Dassanayake is a person Nepali cricketers revere, almost! CAN extended Dassanayake’s coaching contract by three months, after promising extension for a year. Both CAN and Dassnayake had announced it at March-end.

It goes without saying that Nepali cricket has prospered after arrival of Dassanayake as a coach. Not only Nepal climbed in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, but also secured a place in the World Cup of T20 format, where Nepali cricketers proved their mettle. Hence, the callous treatment shown to him is uncalled for. Those-in-the-know of Nepali cricket’s management say Pubudu’s rising influence over players and policies was the reason CAN bigwigs decided to curtail his stay.

CAN leadership backtracking on its promise shows that there’s something terribly wrong with Nepali cricket. Worse still, it is at the governing body of the sport. Only recently, the players that played in the World Cup decided to boycott the national championship, in an effort to highlight incompetence of the cricket authority. If cricket insiders are to be believed, the major sponsors of Nepali cricket are not happy with CAN’s handling of resources. Hence, a question arises: is this cricket? You would expect the gentlemen’s game to be run in a gentlemanly manner. But that is far from reality. The cricketers have criticized CAN’s recent move.

But this is not the first time cricketers led by captain Paras Khadka have done so. And that is worrying. CAN is a body that has been formed to manage cricket, and has a responsibility to develop the game. However, despite Nepali team’s success at the international level in recent years, precious little has been done for the development.

The physical infrastructure has not improved, cricket structure—in dire need of restructuring—remains what it was a decade ago, the facilities for players at the districts are yet to improve. Yes, the earning of national level cricketers have gone up, but there is hardly any motivation for boys and girls at school level—who would make the team of tomorrow—to take up cricket.

And that calls for a revamp of the organization. Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has directed CAN for years to have a proper management structure, including CEO and permanent manager for cricket teams. CAN is yet to heed the call, due to its internal power struggle. Governing bodies across sports and nations are known for bickering within. Yet the sport governing bodies that are successful have separation of power properly defined between the policy making body (Executive Committee) and the administrative body (Management).

That is lacking in CAN. If there ever was a time to follow that path, it is now, especially as appeal of Nepali cricket and its international scope has grown many fold in the recent years. Now is the time professional managers should be included in CAN and not only past cricketers (for their knowledge of the game), and do away with political appointees. Inclusion of professionals would mean that cases are decided on their merit and not ego trips. That would also mean that those who contribute to cricket are given due recognition. Coaches may come and go, but Nepali cricket would be steady if proper development processes are followed.

Ed: This editorial appeared in Republica national daily. Original article here

Riding high on the euphoria of Nepal’s first ever appearance at the World Cup, the Cricket Associa-tion of Nepal (CAN), on March 25, offered coach Pubudu Dassanayake a one-year contract. CAN had held out till the very end, only promising to renew the contract at the last moment. Now that the excitement has died down, in a striking betrayal on Tuesday, CAN handed Dassanayake a paltry three-month contract, prompting protests from the national cricket team, who have long been ardent supporters of their Sri Lankan coach. Dassanayake himself appeared dejected, having only been informed of the duplicity hours before departing for the ACC Premier League in Malaysia.

Coach Dassanayake has been a beloved fixture of Nepali cricket ever since he took over from another Sri Lankan, Roy Luke Dias, in 2011. He has led the Nepali cricket team to new heights, beginning with Nepal’s progression from Division 4 to Division 2 on the World Cricket League. His biggest achievement though has been Nepal’s entry into the World Cup and the subsequent performance that won the Nepali team accolades from across the world. Dassanayake’s crucial role in these accomplishments is undeniable, as testified time and again by the national team. Skipper Paras Khadka has been most vocal about Dassanayake’s support and leadership, his vision for Nepali cricket and his master plan to lead Nepal to even greater heights.

CAN seems to have overlooked all of these feats. Officials claim that they were unable to extend the coach’s contract owing to an ongoing investigation into CAN by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority for embezzlement. CAN’s decision, however, seems to have been motivated by a petty desire to exact some form of vengeance on the players for their recent protest against CAN. Several CAN members are suspicious of Dassanayake for the influence he has on the team players and imagine that he had a role to play in their protest. In handing Dassanayake their decision just prior to the ACC Premier League, they have likely shattered his—and by extension, the team’s—morale, which was understandably already quite low. There will only be CAN to blame if the team performs poorly in Malaysia.

In order to mitigate the damage done, CAN must immediately extend the coach’s contract to the term promised earlier. Coach Dassanayake has proved himself and surely deserves to be treated better. Nepali cricket, which is only just gaining ground, will face an unprecedented setback if Dassanayake rejects the trifling three-month offer and quits. If this happens, the chain of responsibility will extend all the way up from CAN to its political masters in the Ministry of Youth and Sports and to the Cabinet. Those same leaders who felicitated and congratulated the Nepali team on their performance at the World Cup must now acknowledge and appreciate Dassanayake’s decisive role as the unsung hero of Nepali cricket.

Ed: This editorial appeared in The Kathmandu Post on 1 May, 2014. The original article can be viewed here

In a move that may appear humiliating to anyone who has followed Nepali cricket in recent months, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has extended Team Nepal’s head coach Pubudu Dassanayake’s contract by just three months, a month after announcing that his coaching job would be extended by a year.

On March 25, CAN had announced that Dassanayake would remain with Nepali cricket team for another year.

The cricket governing body handed him three-month contract extension just ahead of the team’s departure to Malaysia, where Nepal plays in the ACC Premier League. CAN’s work execution committee had unanimously decided to extend Dassanayake’s one-year extension six days before his previous contract expired.

Making public the decision of the meeting then, CAN President and the member of work execution committee Tanka Angbuhang had also announced increment to Dassanayake’s salary and facilities provided by CAN. However, the contract was yet to be signed then.

“I was assured of a year-long contract extension before its expiry on May 29. But now they have handed me the contract for three months. As per the document I will be team coach until June 20,” disappointed Dassanayake said. “I don’t have any idea why I was given just three months contract.”

However, CAN General Secretary Ashok Nath Pyakurel claimed that the contract was given following hours long discussion with coach Dassanayake on Monday evening. He also said three-month contract was due to technical problem.

According to a highly placed CAN sources, the cricket authority decided to reduce his contract period blaming him of foul play during national players’ recent protest which dragged CAN office bearers to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) probe.

National players had boycotted recently held national championship demanding resignation of CAN officials, proper cricketing system, financial transparency and timely payment of their salary among others. Besides this, some CAN officials were not happy with coach’s active role in policy making as well as his reach at the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Following the players protest, CAN was forced to form planning and monitoring committee consisting of National Sports Council (NSC) Member-Secretary Yubaraj Lama, Dassanayake himself, captain Paras Khadka and others. Many believe that the three month extension as CAN’s revenge to Dassanayake because he agreed to be in the committee.

“I think CAN have been facing serious questions these days and are also under the scanner of CIAA. Thus they were not willing to extend the contract. But, I don’t have any role in player’s recent protest.”

General Secretary Pyakurel refuted that CAN was taking revenge with Dassanayake. “It is totally wrong. As CIAA has called CAN for investigation, the decision of work execution committee alone cannot give him contract extension. The extension is yet to be approved by the executive committee.”

“CIAA could again raise question why such big decision was not undertaken by the board. He (Dassanayake) had asked for a-year contract letter yesterday. We explained our difficulties to him and it was his idea of three months extension for time being,” Pyakurel said. CAN sources also claim there may not be further contract extension for the coach.

However, Pyakurel says extension is on. “There is no reason why his contract won’t be extended. He will get full term (one-year) extension once the board meeting approves it. The work execution committee is obliged to follow the board decision,” Pyakurel said. When asked what if the board does not approves the decision of work execution committee, he said, “It is up to board and it must be approved.”

Meanwhile, skipper Paras Khadka said that CAN was plotting to fire Dassanayake from the post. “They (CAN) have been fooling us by saying they did not have sufficient time for doing anything as they were occupied due to CIAA’s investigation. The truth is that they are trying to humiliate and fire him,” said furious captain.

“It is nothing but humiliation to see such treatment given to the coach who has contributed so much for Nepali cricket,” he added.

Nepali cricket has taken a giant stride under Dassanayake. Since he took over as the coach in October 2011 of Nepal replacing incumbent Roy Dias, Nepal has climbed to ICC World Cricket League Division 2, from Division 4, played in One Day International World Cup qualifiers. Nepal also entered the ICC World T20, for the first time, under Dassanayake’s coaching stint.

Less than a month after impressive performance at the World T20 Cup, Nepali cricketers are at odds with the cricket governing body of Nepal, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).

In a show of displeasure with the Association, the national cricket players have decided to walk out of the one day national tournament on Thursday. The cricketers have blamed CAN of overlooking their demands.

Captain of National Cricket Team, Paras Khadka , announced that the national players have decided to stay away from the tournament.  At a press conference organized in the capital’s Hotel Crown Plaza, the players also complained over the change of venue for the ongoing Pespi Standard Chartered one day national cricket tournament from Kathmandu to Pokhara. The tournament kicked off on Wednesday.

“We are ready to face action, if any, is taken against us,” said skipper Khadka at the press meet.

Paras Khadka at the Press Conference held to announce boycott of national team players from One Day National Championship, at Hotel Crowne Plaza.
Photo: Bikash Karki

The cricketers are dissatisfied with the CAN’s decision to shift the venue of the national tournament just ahead of Asian Premiere League, which begins in Malaysia from May 1.

The cricketers have hoped that their walking out from the ongoing national tournament would put pressure on the CAN to address their demands for the welfare of the cricketers in Nepal.

The players have been demanding the implementation of the decision regarding the new perks and emoluments recently announced for the national level cricketers. They have also demanded the free treatment for the cricketer Prithu Baskota, who was injured during qualifying tournament for the One Day World cup held in New Zealand this year.

Impressed with Nepali players performance at the World T20 Cup tournament held in Bangladesh last month, the government had promised to increase the perks and benefits for the national level cricketers.

It was a clash of worldviews on display at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on March 20 and the gritty, never-say-die attitude of Nepal trumped the uber-confident boom or bust approach of Afghanistan.

The result didn’t mean much in terms of the ICC World Twenty20 2014, for Bangladesh progressed to the Super 10 despite an embarrassing 2-wicket thrashing from hands of Hong Kong.

But in the larger scheme of things, the hard-earned nine-run win meant that Nepal showed the world what rapid strides it had made in the game in a short period of time.

When Afghanistan won the toss and put Nepal in, there were signs that Mohammad Nabi believed he could bully the opposition a touch. Shapoor Zadran, who would be in the reckoning to make the cut in most full member teams, ran in with good rhythm, and Dawlat Zadran hurried the batsmen.

Sagar Pun and Subash Khakurel, attempting to grow into a steady partnership at the top of the order, played within themselves, content to play themselves in, even with the PowerPlay on. But Pun’s attempt to clear mid-off in the fourth over failed, and Nepal was 19 for 1.

Gyanendra Malla showed excellent urgency, attacking Samiullah Shenwari in the sixth over. A beautiful extra cover drive, all along the ground, a loft over a packed offside cordon and two monstrous mows over midwicket yielded an 18-run over and gave the Nepal innings the momentum it so badly needed.

But, buoyed by his initial success Malla (22) attempted a reverse sweep when a safe single was on offer and popped a catch to short third-man.

Shakti Gauchan’s celebrations reflect the emotions of Nepali players.

Paras Khadka, who has been the backbone of Nepal’s batting in the tournament, attempted to go big, across the line, before he had the measure of conditions, and Mirwaiz Ashraf made a mess of the stumps. Its two most accomplished batsmen were back in the hut with only 53 on the board and 11 overs still to play, and Nepal was in trouble.

Khakurel bailed it out with a mature innings, building a partnership with a 76-run fourth-wicket stand in which Subash Vesawkar showed that his team was not solely dependent on a couple of players. Khakurel was not afraid to play out a few more dot balls than you usually see in a Twenty20 innings, and it was largely his 56 – the first half-century by a Nepal batsman at this level – that gave the innings substance.

Khakurel may have consumed 53 balls in the process, striking at just over 103, but his effort meant that Afghanistan’s bowlers did not run roughshod over Nepal.

Vesawkar helped himself to a 32-ball 37, but once more Nepal failed to finish its innings strongly, and ended on 141 for 5, at least 20 runs short on a belter of a pitch.

Afghanistan began its innings in strange fashion, neither opener keen on singles. While Nepal’s bowlers lacked the zip and verve of its Afghan counterparts, they were more disciplined, and when this was backed up by plucky fielding, the boundaries were hard to come by. Karim Sadiq (8) and Mohammad Shahzad (6) swung at everything with gay abandon anyway, and it was no real surprise that both were dismissed cheaply.

With the openers gone in a hurry the natural thing to do for the middle order would have been to buckle down and get a partnership going, especially given that the target was not a massive one.

But, Najibullah Zadran chipped one straight to mid-on, Nawroz Mangal was brilliantly caught by Khadka running back a long way towards square-leg and Nabi was trapped in front of the stumps as Afghanistan slumped to 50 for 5.

Shafiqullah used the same approach as those before him, but connected cleanly over and over again, slapping five fours and one monstrous six over square-leg for 36 before failing to keep a cut shot down off Basant Regmi.

When Afghanistan’s last recognised pair, Asghar Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari, came together, 59 runs were still needed, off only 35 balls. The two had no option but to be aggressive and Stanikzai got a move on, sending Shakti Gauchan deep into the stands over long-on. The equation was reduced to 30 off the final two overs, and Nepal desperately needed to break the partnership.

With only three runs coming off the first three balls of the penultimate over, Shenwari pulled out the big shot, but only managed to sky the ball back over the bowler’s head. Charging in from wide mid-off, Khadka pulled off his second stunner of the game, swinging the balance in his team’s favour.

When the final over began, with 24 still needed, all eyes were on Stanikzai. Booming shots off the first two balls brought boundaries at midwicket as Malla, running across from long-on failed to pull the ball back on both occasions.

Sompal Kami, reading the batsman’s intentions, speared the third ball full, outside the off, and the batsmen managed to scramble two. The fourth ball was short, and disappeared once more, leaving 10 needed off two.

Stanikzai’s luck ran out off the penultimate ball when he holed out to long-on, Malla making no mistake and ending a rousing innings on 49. When the final ball was sent down, Afghanistan ended on 132 for 8, 10 adrift of pulling off a major heist.

Catches win matches: Paras Khadka

Nepal’s captain Paras Khadka said that catches were crucial. “It seems we forget, catches win matches, I had no other option but to take the catch.”

“We came here to compete, its our first world cup, and in the first edition beating Hong Kong and Afghanistan is a quite achievement. We are very happy. Nepali fans always wanted us to beat Afghanistan, and we did it today and did in big tournament,” he added.

“Every body played well today, beating Afghanistan is special.”

Shafiqullah of Afghanistan said that their batting let them down. “It didn’t clicked. We have played with Nepal, its a good team, we wanted to achieve the target set by Nepal in 14-15 overs to that we could’ve had a little chance to reach in second stage, thats why we tried to play aggressively, but it couldn’t happen, our batting didn’t clicked and we lost.”

“Nepal played good cricket today,” he said.

Arch rivals Nepal and Afghanistan will be looking to pull out all stops when they face each other on Thursday in their last group stage match of the ICC World T20 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Both the sides have slim chances of progressing to the next round. Even a win on Thursday will not be sufficient for either of the teams to guarantee their place in the Super 10 round. Their fate also hinges on the outcome of the fixture between Bangladesh and Hong Kong. But victory over Afghanistan would be a big achievement for Nepal, which has never defeated the Afghans since 2004.
Nepal’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake hinted that his side’s challenge for the next round was over. “We are not in a position to control whatever happens. We just want to win the match and finish with four points,” Dassanayake said. “We will try to achieve a good run rate. The only chance for us is if Bangladesh loses to Hong Kong. We are looking forward to the Afghanistan match. We have our plans and we want to go and execute them.”
Host Bangladesh, the only Test-playing side in Group A, has strong chances of advancing into the next round, as it has maintained perfect record with convincing wins in both its previous matches. The group winner from each of the two groups will qualify for the Super 10 stage.
Nepal and Afghanistan’s entry into the next round will largely depend on the outcome of the match between Bangladesh and Hong Kong on Thursday. A Bangladesh victory will send both Nepal and Afghanistan packing from the group stage irrespective of the result of their match.
Both Nepal and Afghanistan lost to Bangladesh and won against Hong Kong. Nepal defeated Hong Kong by 80 runs in its opening match of the World T20 and suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Similarly, Afghanistan suffered a nine-wicket defeat against the home team in the curtain-raiser and beat Hong Kong by seven wickets on Tuesday.
Bangladesh leads the Group A standings with four points. Nepal and Afghanistan are in second and third places with two points each. Nepal is ahead on the basis of better run rate. Bottom-place Hong Kong has already crashed out from the World Cup with a match in hand following two consecutive defeats.
If past records are taken into account, Afghanistan holds superiority over Nepal. Nepal has defeated Afghanistan only once, in the latter’s first international appearance during the ACC Trophy in 2004. Since then, it has been one way traffic for Afghanistan in both T20 or 50-over format.
The last time these two sides met was during the World T20 Qualifiers in the UAE in November 2013. Then, Afghanistan registered convincing victories against Nepal in the group match as well as the semifinal.
In 2013, Afghanistan won 26 of the 28 matches against Associate and Affiliate nations, apart from Ireland. This is Afghanistan’s third consecutive appearance in the ICC World T20 following its debut in 2010. In the 2012 edition, Afghans to India lost by 23 runs.
Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi is confident that his side will continue its dominance over Nepal. “We have been beating Nepal in the past and we won’t have any difficulty playing against Associate teams.”
“We know each other very well as we have played numerous times in the past,” said Sharad Vesawkar, who scored 40 runs against Bangladesh on Tuesday. “We have friendly relations with each other and we are aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Sharad, skipper Paras Khadka, Shakti Gauchan, Subash Khakurel, Basanta Regmi, Jeetendra Mukhiya and Gyanendra Malla were rested during Thursday’s training session. A lot will depend on the batting of Sharad, Paras, Gyanendra and opener Subash if Nepal is to beat the Afghans on Thursday.
Nepal’s bowling hopes will rest on left-arm spinners Shakti Gauchan and Basanta Regmi on the grassy pitch. Both of them earned three wickets each in Nepal’s historic win over Hong Kong.

Test nation Bangladesh proved too mighty as the host defeated Nepal by eight wickets with 27 balls remaining.

At Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, Nepal put up matured batting performance against the host to reach 126/5. Nepal lost opener Subash Khakurel at eight runs off 13 balls while his opening partner Sagar Pun scored 12 runs off 19 balls.

Gyanendra Malla started beautifully but Al-Amin Hossain trapped him LBW while he was on 13 runs off six balls.

Skipper Paras Khadka and Sharad Vesawkar put up the 85-run fourth wicket partnership, the highest partnership for Nepal in T20s. Khadka was bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza while attempting a scoop. Khadka blasted 41 runs off 35 balls including four boundaries. Vesawkar scored 40 runs off 43 balls before getting run out in the last ball of the innings. He slapped five boundaries.

Hossain claimed two wickets while Mortaza and Farhad Reza took a wicket each. Hossain was named man of the match for his 2 wickets off 4-over spell where he gave away 17 runs.

After the match, Nepali captain Khadka told the commentators that failing to rotate the strike resulted into relatively low score against an experienced side.

Chasing a not-so-difficult target, Bangladeshi openers Tamim Iqbal (30 runs off 22 balls) and Anamul Haque (42 runs off 33 balls) put up a 63-run partnership for the first wicket. Later Sabbir Rahman remained unbeaten with 21 runs off 20 balls and Shakib Al Hassan blasted 37 runs off 18 including four sixes. Bangladesh smashed altogether eight sixes in the innings to defuse Nepali bowling attack.

Basant Regmi claimed the wicket of Iqbal while Sagar Pun accounted for a bizarre run out of Haque.

Photo Courtesy: Cricinfo

Shakti Gauchan, who displayed a spirited man-of-the-match performance against Hong Kong, turned out to be the most expensive bowlers against Bangladesh, giving away 40 runs in four overs.

After the match, Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake said, “Batting was an achievement. I am not dissatisfied. If we coud add another 15-20 runs the, story could have been different.”

He added that Nepal had nothing to lose, “Nepal is a quality side, we have talents. We played quite well in qualifier. We had a opening problem, but this a solved now, Subas and Sagar played quite well. Paras is good player, he played upto his reputation. We missed Gyanendra in todays match, if he could scored a little, we could have a strong fight.”

Sharad Vesawkar, in the post match press conference also sounded positive despite the defeat. He said, “We are playing in world cup, this is big thing for us. We are happy with our performance. And we enjoyed the game. We are not used to playing on the grassy wicket like this. This made us a little uncomfortable in the beginning but after some time, we played up to our strength.”

Nepal will take on Afghanistan on Thursday.

Nepal awaits its biggest challenge in the group stage of ICC World Twenty20, playing against host Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Tuesday. Bangladesh is the only Test playing nation of group A. This is Nepal’s first encounter against the Test playing team.

Both the sides started their campaign on Saturday with resounding victories. Nepal overcame Hong Kong by 80 runs and Bangladesh edged past Afghanistan by nine wickets. A victory to either of the team will strengthen their bid to move to the next round.

Nepali team practicing, a before the match against Bangladesh at World T20.

Playing against a test playing side, Nepal is an underdog. But Nepal’s skipper Paras Khadka does not seem much bothered about the result while Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim is no mood to underestimate Nepal.

“We are not much worried about the result. We are here to play good cricket and continue what we did yesterday. The match against Bangladesh is a big opportunity more than pressure for us to play with Test playing side. It will be a new beginning and new challenge,” Paras said.

Predicting that any outcome could be expected in T20, Bangladesh skipper Rahim commented that his side would leave no stone unturned to achieve result in its favour. “Whoever plays better in those three hours is going to win so we will really take them seriously. Nepal played really well yesterday and achieved big win.”

“Hopefully our boys will come up again and we will try our level best to win tomorrow. We will do exactly the same as that against Afghanistan.”

He also said that his side has knowledge about Team Nepal. ‘We have recently watched a couple of video footages of the Qualifiers and also saw the warm-up match in Fatullah. We saw how many bowlers and batsmen they have. We will devise a good plan against them,” said Rahim.

Though the host will have home team and home ground advantage, Rahim came up with different view about the pitch of Chittagong. “Although we are home team, Nepal knows the condition better than us because we have not played any game here.” Bangladesh had defeated Afghanistan at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. He also opined that the huge crowd will motivate his side to play better.

Nepal’s skipper Paras said that victory in the first match over Hong Kong has brought a lot of positives to his team. “We are here not just for the sake of participation and are trying to push forward to the best what we can do tomorrow. Everybody is keen to do their best. In the T20 format, you have to play better in whole 40 overs.”

Nepal skipper Paras Khadka at the pre-match press conference, in Chittagong. March 17, 2014.

Paras however, rated Bangladesh as favorite in the group. “In comparison, Bangladesh is favorite. But it is the game of bat and ball, we will stick to our basics and our strength. We will play the match for the team, for ourselves and supporters back home.”

Leaving a few cases including the Hong Kong encounter, Nepali openers have flopped at the international stage. The opening partnership of Subash Khakurel and Sagar Pun will be vital in shaping the fate of the match to some extent. Similarly, the spinner-friendly grassy wicket will be advantage for off-arm spinners Sagar and Paras and left-arm spinners Basanta Regmi and Shakti Gauchan. Basanta and Shakti had claimed three wickets apiece in its 80-run win over Hong Kong.

Bangladesh also has very good spinners in their side and has experience of playing spinners. Additionally, they have the advantage of experience. So before the match, Bangladesh can be called favorites. However, Nepali fans would be hoping otherwise.

The match will begin at 19:15 NST.