Nepal taste first defeat against Malaysia

Mahesh Acharya, The Himalayan Times, SHARJAH:

Nepal suffered the first ever loss against Malaysia when they went down by six wickets in the opening match of the ACC Twenty20 Cup at the Sharjah International Stadium here today.

Electing to bat first, Nepal scored 112-7 in 20 overs and Malaysia overcame the target losing four wickets in 17.2 overs. This was the first time Nepal lost against Malaysia in any form and level of cricket. Nepal made a good start with openers Paresh Lohani and Mehboob Alam scoring 40 runs in six overs. But the things slowed down thereafter and the Nepali batsmen struggled to build partnerships as the wickets fell in regular intervals.

Nepal confident of making winning start

Mahesh Acharya, SHARJAH

The Himalayan Times:

Nepal are confident of maintaining the unbeaten record against Malaysia in their Group B opening match of the ACC Twenty20 Cup here at the Sharjah International Stadium on Sunday.

Nepal have never lost against Malaysia in any form of cricket with coach Roy Luke Dias and skipper Paras Khadka expressing their confidence ahead of the match. Dias said the pressure would be on Malaysia as they have never beaten Nepal, while Paras conceded both the teams would be under equal pressure as both the teams would work hard to win the first match of the tournament.

First test for new captain Paras

REPUBLICA, Kathmandu, Nov 22:

Nepal are the emerging power in Asian cricket. However, the scenarios will be different on Sunday. Nepal are taking archrivals Malaysia in the second edition of the ACC T-20 Cup on Sunday but, most importantly, Nepal are under the leadership of new captain Paras Khadka.

This will be the first occasion that Nepal are playing under new captaincy in the last five years as Paras replaced Binod Das from the role. It would be the first senior level test for Paras in international tournament though he had succeeded in winning several domestic and age group tournaments.

Nepal win T20 practice match

Republica, Kathmandu, Nov 19:

Nepali national cricket team won the fourth practice match in Delhi on Thursday. Nepal defeated Lal Bahadur Shastri cricket club by four wickets in the match.

Batting first, LBSCC put up 95 as their five batsmen were run out. Shakti Gauchan and Binod Das took two wickets each. In reply, Nepal met the target in 19.2 overs losing their six wickets. Dipendra Chaudhary struck 39 runs to guide Nepal to victory.

Nepal is playing practice matches in Delhi ahead of ACC T-20 Cup to be held in Dubai from November 20.

Nepali cricket, UAE and trail of coincidences

By: Binod pandey

Republica, Kathmandu, Nov 19:

Nepali national cricket team is optimistic about ending the title drought in the ACC T-20 Cup to be held in UAE on November 20. The reason: the trail of coincidences that links many Nepali cricketers to the gulf country.

UAE is not foreign to Coach Roy Luke Dias. The Sri-Lankan had created a historical record in UAE with unbeaten 65 runs in the One Day International against Pakistan in 1982. It was the first time when a Sri Lankan player had scored half a century in ODI.

What requires our cricket?

Nepal has started, its way to UAE for ACC T/20 Tournament, which is going to place from November 20 and last till 30th of this month.

As usual, Batting will be the main headache for Nepal and reply from concern people will be same; lack of practice. If all those people know the reason then why don’t they try to solve it? I saw this time around as well, they provided players a one month training camp, especially after they know there is no cricketing activities. Can’t they afford it? I don’t believe it, if yes then they could make it in an economical way. They could request all, who are related to, for consideration, after all this is all for them and country’s pride.

Nepal defeats LBSCC in friendly T20

cricket.com.np, Nov. 17,

Touring Nepali national team registered a two-wicket win over the Lal Bahadur Shastri Cricket Club (LBSCC) in a Twenty20 friendly match.

LBSCC scored 97/9 in 20 overs and Nepal completed the victory with three balls and two wickets remaining.

For LBSCC, Sandeep Kaushik scored 39 off 38 balls while Saqib Alam scored 32 off 37 balls.

Shakti Gauchan and off-spinner Sanjam Regmi took two wickets each while Binod Das, Amrit Bhattarai and captain Paras Khadka grabbed a wicket each.

Gyanendra Malla topscored for Nepal with 34 off 44 balls while Sharad Vesawakar (20 off 30) and Dipendra Chaudhary (18 off 18) contributed for the victory.

Saqib took three wickets while Abhisekh Thakur took two wickets. Sandeep also got a wicket.

The LBSCC team consisted of Ranji Trophy players, according to team manager Naresh Shrestha.

Two new faces in national cricket squad

By: BINOD PANDEY
Repuplica, Kathamandu, Nov 18:

There are a few players who made direct entry into the national team without playing age level international cricket matches. But this time two new faces — Binod Bhandari and Naresh Budhayer from Baitadi — have booked place in the national teams for an international tournament. They will be playing in the ACC T20 Cricket to be held in Dubai from Sunday.

Binod and Naresh are the only players in the present national squad, who have not played any international age level international matches. They have been selected for the national squad following their impressive performance in the First Springwood National T20 tournament held in June-July.

Nepali cricket team loses warm up matches in Delhi

The Himalayan Times, KATHMANDU:

The ACC Twenty20 Cup preparing Nepali national cricket team lost both of its friendly Twenty20 matches against the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) XI today in Delhi. Nepal lost the first match by 26 runs and suffered a seven wicket blow in the second.

In the first match, Nepal —who elected to field — were restricted for 138-4 while chasing 164 runs. Vice-captain Gyanendra Malla smashed 52 off 41 balls but his valiant effort went in vain. Skipper Parash Khadka remained unbeaten on 25-ball 37 while Dipendra Chaudhary scored 26 off 28 balls.

Mehboob Alam scored 12 runs while Binod Bhandari (3) and Paresh Lohani (1) failed to reach the double figure mark. Earlier, DDCA-XI made a modest 164-5 after Ankur Jhulka smashed 44-ball 54. Parash Khadka was the most economical bowler for Nepal and picked up two wickets giving away 23 runs in four overs. Former captain Binod Das and Basanta Regmi claimed one wicket apiece.

According to the Nepali team manager Naresh Kumar Shrestha, Nepal lost the grip in the second match as they could only muster 82 runs losing nine wickets in 20 overs. Opener Paresh Lohani played 50 balls while top scoring the teams’ scorecard with 26 runs while Mehboob Alam made 17 runs in 18 balls.

In reply DDCA-XI sailed home in 12.3 overs with seven wickets in hand. Sawari Khan fired 41 off 35 balls and Puneet Mehra collected 22 runs from 18 balls.

Binod Das was the notable among the bowlers picking up a wicket and conceding 11 runs in 3.3 overs that also included a maiden over. Basanta Remi picked up a wicket but was expensive giving away 22 runs in his two-over spell.

Nepal to warm up in Delhi for ACC T20

The Himalayan Times News,KATHMANDU:

In a bid to put good fight in the ACC Twenty20 Cup slated for November 22-30 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Nepali cricket team is on Saturday leaving for Delhi, India to play friendly matches against the local teams.

As a part of the preparation for ACC Twenty20 Cup, Nepal will play three matches in Delhi from November 15-18 under the fresh leadership of Paras Khadka. Nepal will play Indian Air Force Team on November 15 before taking on LB Shashtri Cricket Club two days later. The friendly tour will round up with a match against President-XI team of Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA). The DDCA president Arun Jetley managed the all-paid tour. The Nepali team will leave for the UAE on November 20.