Singapore with the trophy. Photo by Bikash Karki/myrepublica.com

Singapore scored 146/6 in 40 overs and bowled out Nepal for 78 runs in 22 overs for a 68-run win.

After electing to bat first, Singapore lost oepner Keshav Sashiri in the second over bowled by Devendra Somare.

Ishaan Shekhar, who were aggressive scoring 21 off 12 with four boundaries, tried to hit Satish Bhagat but the ball went to mid-off region where Swichan Shah took a good catch.

At 26/2 in 4.3 overs, Singapore chose to play quietly and next 14 overs they added 32 runs. Vikash Rajgopala and captain Varun Sivaram mostly relying on singles. Sivaram (14 off 40) fell to Rajiv Shah who took a return catch while Mohit Kulkarni (9) was trapped leg-before by Sushan Shrestha as the visitors go 79/4 in 26 overs.

Then Singapore swung the match in their favor with Rajagola racing to his fourth half-century in five matches. Dropped on 23 and 41, he scored 58 off 107 balls with just two boundaries before falling to Nischal Pandey.

Celebrations! Photo by Bikash Karki/myrepublica.com

Wicket-keeper Sam Franks kept the momentum on with 26 off 41 with a four and a six before running himself out in the last ball of the innings. Sidharth Sikka contributed with unbeaten 12 as Singapore finished on 146/6 – a tough score given that Nepal was a team of raw players that was depended on a couple of shoulders.

Nepal bowled 40 overs 35 minutes before the lunch leaving enough time for five overs of its innings. The early signs were good as openers Sharad Khadka and Nischal added 29 in those overs.

Story was totally different after lunch. In next five overs, Nepal lost three wickets for nine runs making it 38/5 in 10 overs – the fate of the match was already decided.

On field umpires for the final - Buddhi Bahadur Pradhan of Nepal who is also an umpire in the ICC Associate and Affiliate Panel and MV Ramesh of Singapore. Photo by Bikash Karki/myrepublica.com

Left-arm spinner Abhiraj Singh struck in the seventh over with Sharad being stumped. Two balls later, off-spinner Navin Param gave a blow taking the wicket of Nischal.

Swichan failed in fifth match straight going for a big shot – immediately after surviving a stumping on similar shot. He was second victim to Navin, who also struck in next over dismissing Dipendra Chand in a backfoot leg-before. Sushan Shrestha was run-out and it was 48/5.

Saisrikar Pogaru took three wickets for 10 runs while Shivan Ahuja grabbed the last one as Nepal was bowled out at miserable 78 in 22 overs.

This is the first-ever final that Nepal lost at home. For Singapore, who won the ACC U-15 Elite Cup two years ago, it was second title they won in Nepal.

Nischal Pandey of Nepal won the best bowler and man of the series award while Vikas Rajagolapa was named best batsman of the tournament.

Nischal Pandey with best bowler and man of the series awards. Photo by Bikash Karki/myrepublica.com

The selection committee headed by Arun Kumar Satyal named Paras Khadka the skipper.

Others in the squad are Shakti Gauchan, Dipendra Chaudhary, Sharad Vesawkar, Amrit Bhattarai, Pradeep Airee, Avaya Rana, Gyanendra Malla, Mehaboob Alam,Basanta Regmi, Anil Kumar Mandal, Binod Bhandari, Prithu Baskota, Naresh Budhayer, Binod Das, Sanjam Regmi, Mahesh Chettri, Rahul Kumar BK, Subash Khakurel and Dhirendra Bahadur Chand.

According to CAN, the closed camp training for the squad begins on March 22.

Nepal are drawn in Group A with the defending champions Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait and Oman. Other teams in the tournament are UAE, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Bhutan.

In 2008 ACC Trophy in Malaysia, Nepal finished fourth after losing to UAE in semifinal and Afghanistan in the third-place playoff.

For a change, Dipendra Chand was named man of the match for scoring 43 to help Nepal reach 162 in 39.5 overs after electing to bat first. Bibek Chaudhary and Rajiv Shah each grabbed three wickets to bowl out Malaysia for 130 in 38.1 overs.

Nepal will now meet Singapore in March 16’s final at the TU Ground. Singapore beat Hong Kong by 133 runs at the IOE Ground to march into final.

Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first in the live-telecast match.

Sharad Khadka and Nischal Pandey played patiently scoring 33/0 in 10 overs to give Nepal a foundation to work on. Nischal, who was man of the match in earlier three matches, was caught on 14 off 26 balls off Md Fetri Sham.

Captain Swichan Shah failed in fourth successive match following his two ducks with six runs off 20 balls. He was first of three victims of Syahadat Ramli, who earlied had toured Nepal with the U-17 team.

Ramli also grabbed Sharad’s wicket making it 54/3 in 20 overs and Nepal seemed to be in a trouble. Sharad got 23 off 60 balls.

Dipendra Chand during his 44. Photo by Asian Cricket Council.

When he was out in 36th over, Nepal was 138/6 and a few small contributions, notably unbeaten 11 from Rajiv, seven by Susan Shrestha and eight by Hari Chaulagain took Nepal to a defendable total.

Ramli finished at 3/25 while Sham returned with 2/28.

Malaysia’s reply began well with Razlan Zalati and Amerul Hussain adding 27 in eight overs. Though they were trailing on run-rate from early on, they put Nepali bowlers under pressure until a few overs towards the end.

Nischal looked like replicating his two five-wickets hauls when he gave breakthrough taking bowling out Zalati but Bibek made it his show taking next three wickets – Ramli (7), Hussain (20) and Sham (12).

At the end of 33 overs, they were 107/5 needing 56 off last seven overs – a difficult task but could have been completed with someone getting quick 20s. There were none though.

Devendra Somare grabbed two wickets in 34th over – that of Tharmaraj Mohan (17) and Azlan Idris (16) breaking their 33-run stand and turning the match in Nepal’s way.

Rajiv cleaned up the tail taking three wickets in his seven balls after going wicketless in his first three overs to end Malaysia’s innings 32 runs short of Nepal’s total.

Malaysia now meets Hong Kong for the third-place playoff at BSAM Ground on Monday.

SINGAPORE THRASH HONG KONG

The other semifinal was totally opposite and it brought a lopsided victory for Singapore at IOE Ground. The only setback Singapore suffered was on the first over when they lost Ishaan Shekhar after electing to bat first.

Keshav Seshadri and Vikas Rajgopala added 72 runs in 14 overs to give Singapore a dream start with scoreboard reading 75/1. Seshadri was stumped at 37 off 45 balls, a knock consisting of seven fours.

Rajgopala scored 68 off 92 balls with seven fours as Singapore utilised the foundation to play aggressively and got a very good total of 230/9.

Amandeep Singh was pick of Hong Kong player who got 3/49.

Hong Kong lost the openers early in score of 14 – thanks to Shekhar who picked up both wickets. Kinchit Shah (23) and Miten Khatri (15) tried the recovery with 48-run partnership with a chuck of runs coming from extras but introduction of Shivan Ahuja and Saisrikar Pogaru undid the Hong Kong soon after.

Amandeep (13) got a few runs while four others were out without scoring as Ahuja took three wickets and Pogaru two to conclude the innings at 97 in 30.1 overs.

KUWAIT SECURES SEVENTH POSITION

At BSAM, Kuwait registered the first win and secured seventh position defeating Thailand by 68 runs.

Batting first, Kuwait scored 159/7 in 40 overw wiht Nasir Rashid getting 63 off 122 balls. Abdul Jabar contributed 31 off 48 while Zakari Ali (11) and Avinash Mohan (12) contributed a few runs for their cause.

Mukesh Saraik was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/27. Aman Dubey, Kushal Shah, Siddhant Anand and Witsanukorn Tapimithai each picked up a wicket for Thailand.

Rashid bowled the tournament best figure of 6/29 as Thailand batting tumbled and ended at 90 off 21.4 overs. Jabar grabbed 3/23 while Mohan took a remaining wicket.

Singapore qualified as the Group A winners defeating Saudi Arabia by 5 wickets at BSAM Ground while Hong Kong made into the last four with a 94-run win over Kuwait at the TU Ground.

At IOE, Malaysia elected to bat first and scored 247/9 and bowled out Thailand for 72 in 25.1 overs.

Malaysia rode on second consecutive match winning performance by Syahadat Ramli who scored 62 off 52 balls with eight fours to help the team accumulate a very good total.

Malaysian batsmen were on the flair with Razlan Zalath (36), Ahmad Jajudin (34), Amirul Hussain (27), Md Fetri Sham (25 off 12 balls) and Fadzrin Rosmanizam (15) getting runs. They also benefited from 32 extra runs.

For Thailand, Kushal Shah grabbed 3/30 while Siddharntham Vardhaman got 2/46.

In reply, Thailand were more focused on staying on than going for the victory. The openers batted for nine overs scoring 22 runs but the slow bowlers baffled them enough.

Nik Nabil (3/12), Sham (3/15) and Ramli (2/12) ensured that they win convincingly by bowling out Thailand for 71 runs in 25.1 overs. Only two Thai batsmen, Witsanukorn Taptimthaz (15) and Nikhom Puttakho (10) scored double-digit.

At BSAM, Saudi Arabia was bowled out for 118 in 33 overs. Singapore needed 23 overs and five wickets to win the match to finish undefeated in the league round.

Varun Sivaram and Abhiraj Singh each grabbed four wickets for Singapore as Saudi failed to post a defensible total. Salman Patel (26), Mohd Abdulla (23) and Salman Saleem (21) got some runs for them.

Mohit Kulkarni remained unbeaten on 39 off 53 balls with five fours to take Singapore to the victory along with Shivan Ahuja (17 not out off 15 balls). Ishaan Shekhar got 22.

Abdulla (2/26) and Faheem Afrad (2/25) were the picks fo the bowlers.

At TU, Hong Kong won the toss and scored 236/8 in 40 overs. Kinchit Shah scored 69 off 87 balls with seven fours and partnered Amandeep Singh for 59-run. Amandeep himself got 35 off 21 balls with three fours and two sixes.

Anshuman Rath (22), Miten Khatri (19) and Farqan Tahir (15) also contributed to the total.

Five of the Hong Kong batsmen were run-out while Avinash Mohan grabbed 2/32. Abdul Jabar took a wicket.

After Hong Kong’s innings, Kuwait needed to win in 19.3 overs to qualify to semifinals on better run-rate. They began making 84 in 10 overs and 109 in 12 overs.

Zakaria Ali played a knock of remember hitting 68 off just 59 balls with 10 fours and a six. He reached his half-century in 36 balls with eight fours and a six.

But there was not much support for him and his fall, to Hong Kong’s captain Miten Khatri, brought quick end of Kuwaiti’s innings. They could only manage 142 in 22.4 overs.

Ali Zaheer got 23 and Mohan 10 while no other batsmen reached double-digit. Miten finished at 4/19 while Amandeep (2/15) and Kinchit (2/29) contributed to help Hong Kong win.

The Chitwan boy scored 74 helping his team reach 206/9 in 40 overs after choosing to bat first and took five wickets with his left-arm spin to restrict Bahrain for 121/9.

Team Nepal celebrates a wicket. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

In Group A matches of the day, Singapore outplayed Thailand for a 175-run victory at TU Ground to put a leg in the semifinals. Malaysia beats Saudi Arabia by six wickets as leaving all three teams having chances of proceeding forward.

Opening the innings, Nischal and Sharad Khadka put Nepal in strong position. Sharad was out scoring 26 runs but Nischal continued scoring freely despite not getting good support from other end.

Hari Chaulagain hit brisk 27 to help Nepal cross 200-mark. For Bahrain, Lalith Lal and Nikhil Bolar each took two wickets.

Bahrain’s reply began in disaster as Hari claimed two wickets in two balls to make it 0/2 after three balls. Then onwards, Bahrain slowed down scoring while saving wickets until vice-captain Nischal was brought in for bowling.

Nischal Pandey proving to be a fine all-rounder. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

The left-arm spinner, who already had nine wickets in two matches, took another five wickets to take his tally to 14 wickets. He bowled eight overs giving away 28 runs.

Apart from Nischal and Hari, Sharad and Rajiv Shah also grabbed a wicket each.

Nepal! Nepal!! Students of Birendra Sainik Awasiya Mahavidhyalaya cheer for Nepal. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

At IOE, Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to bat first. They were bowled out in 36.2 overs for 125.

Mohd Usman topscored with 37 off 50 balls while Salman Patel (25), captain Mohd Abdulla (22) and Faheen Afrad (17) contributed in Saudi’s total.

It was Syahdat Ramli who spearheaded the Malaysian bowling with 4/25 in 7.2 overs while Nik Nabil took 3/20. Tharmaraj Mohan, Azwan Idris and Md Fetri Sham also grabbed a wicket.

Malaysia needed 24.1 overs to chase down the target losing only four wickets.

Although they had a bad start losing both the openers in four overs for 21 runs, Ramli (29 off 36) and Ahmad Tajudin (unbeaten 45 off 58 balls) put them ahead.

Idris contributed 16 runs while Abdulla, Mohd Adnan, Abdul Rafie Baig and Afrad each took a wicket for Saudi.

Ramli was declared man of the match.

At TU, man of the match Vikas Rajagopal scored the second half-century in the tournament to help Singapore reach 246/5 in 40 overs. Rajagopala got 61 runs.

Thailand was bowled out for 71 in 31.4 overs with Shivan Ahuja taking three wickets.

Nischal collected his second man of the match award for scoring 58 runs and taking five wickets as Nepal beat Kuwait by 101 runs at the TU Ground. Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong also earned victory on the second day of the event.

Nischal shone with the bat after Kuwait invited Nepal to bat first. As an opener, he shared a brisk 70-run partnership with Sharad Khadka, who got 33 off 58 balls.

The left-handed batsman was out in 32nd over after scoring 58 off 82 balls with six fours. When he was out, Nepal was 137/6 with other top-order batsmen failing to excel.

It was Satish Bhagat’s unbeaten 29 off 44 balls and a couple of 12-run contribution from No 3 Dipendra Chanda and No 8 Hari Chaulagain that took Nepal to a total of 183 in 40 overs. Satish also partnered last man Rajiv Chaudhary (9) for a 20-run last wicket partnership.

For Kuwait, Naser Rashid and Ali Zaheer took three wickets each while Abdul Jabar grabbed two.

Kuwait’s reply began good with openers Zakaria Liaqat Ali (20 off 31) and Naser (12) adding 37 but introduction of Nischal changed the game for them.

Nischal bowled Ali and found edge of Jabar in an over to put them on backfoot at 37/2 in 9 overs. He then took three wickets in four balls of his last over to finish 5/15 and wreak Kuwait to 71/6 in 21 overs with Bibek Chaudhary picking up a wicket.

Bibek grabbed two more while Rajiv Shah and Sushan Bhari Shrestha took a wicket each to conclude Kuwaiti innings at 82 in 25 overs. Ali Zaher topscored for Kuwait hitting 27 runs off 37 balls.

Nischal double – half-century and five-for – was the first of its kind in any level for a Nepali player.

Hong Kong romps over Bahrain

Miten Rajesh Khatri played a captain’s knock as Hong Kong registered a thumping 113-run victory over Bahrain at the BSAM Ground.

With Khatri’s 59, Hong Kong posted 211/9 in 40 overs and bowled out Bahrain, who registered a win yesterday, for 98 to even on points for second place in Group B behind Nepal.

Khatri’s run-a-ball knock was supported by Ibrahim Ishaq (37 off 60 balls) and Madhav Menon (34 off 60) along with 41 extras bowled by Bahrain bowlers.

Nikhil Ajit Bolar (3/21) was the pick of the bowlers while Lalith Lal took two wickets.

Bahrain started with disaster losing both openers in two overs and never recovered from the shock. Bolar (17) and Sameer Fayyaz (21) tried recovery with 40-run partnership but they were not on par with the required run-rate.

Kinchit Shah was the man destroyer with 4/17 to take his event tally to seven wickets while Toby James Methy took 2/20 as Bahrain’s hopes ended in 27 overs.

Saudi Arabia beats Thailand

The biggest victory of the day was earned by Saudi Arabia who beats Thailand by 159 runs at the IOE Ground.

Saudi Arabia’s captain Mohd Abdulla scored 70 as they raced to 233 in 36.4 overs after choosing to bat first. Man of the match Faheem Afrad got 6/10 in next innings as Thailand was bowled out for 74 in 20.4 overs.

After losing two early wickets, Abdulla made an entry and dominated the proceedings. He added 116 runs with opener Ushman Khalid Quddasi (29). His 70 was scored 67 balls with 14 fours. They were out in space of three balls, bowled by Kushal Shah leaving Saudi at 143/4.

Salman Saleem (36), Abdul Rafie Mirza Baig (20) and Salman Usman Patel (16) took them past 200-mark. Shah was the most successful bowler for Thailand taking 4/45 while Siddhant Anand grabbed two wickets.

Thailand innings best two partnerships were at two ends of the table – 21 opening and 28 last wicket. No 8 Anand topscored with 21. But it was the innings of a bowler – Afrad who got six wickets.

Man of the Match Nischal Pandey of Nepal. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

Nepali spinners weaved a six-wicket victory over Hong Kong in the opening match of the ACC U-16 Elite Cup at the TU Cricket Ground. Bahrain and Singapore also began with victories.

Left-arm spinners Nischal Pandey and Sushan Bhari Shrestha shared seven wickets between them to bowl out Hong Kong for 88 runs in 35.4 overs. Dipendra Chand scored unbeaten 38 with five fours from 47 balls as Nepal reached the target in 18.3 overs.

Nischal returned with 4/6 in 6.4 overs while Sushan grabbed 3/22 in his 8 overs. They overshadowed a disciplined bowling performance from pacers early on who made it difficult for Hong Kong to score.

Due to their exploit, Hong Kong lost their last six wickets for only four runs. Earlier, Hari Chaulagain and Bibek Chaudhary took a wicket each.

Hong Kong’s captain Miten Khatri scored 27 and opener Anshuman Rath got 18 runs. No other batsmen reached the double-digit.

Dipendra’s innings achored Nepal’s innings in which Kinchit Shah took three wickets putting Nepal under pressure. Sharad Khadka scored 14 and partnered 31 with Dipendra.

At IOE, Bahrain dominated Kuwait in their thumping victory. After choosing to bat, Kuwait were bowled out for 111 in 21.4 overs.

Bahrain lost three wickets on the way but won comfortably in 21 overs with Momhad Sameer Fayyaz hitting six for the victory.

Kuwait began well with openers adding 27 runs in four overs but then onwards, it was a sorry tale of batting apart from the fifth-wicket stand of 41 runs between Abdul Zabar and Avhinash Mohan.

Zabar and opener Zakaria Liaquat Ali got 18 each while Mohan and Sharukh Quddus Mirza each scored 13 runs for Kuwait.

Man of the match Lalith Lal (3/16) and Aditya Sarkar (3/27) were the most successful bowler Bahrain bowlers while Fayyaz took two and Aryan Gupta and Akshaya Krishna grabbed a wicket.

Bahrain began strongly with 26/0 in five overs and despite losing two quick wickets in the middle, they were put out of danger with Aditya Krishna (33 not out off 45 with five fours) and Fayyaz (35 not out in 29 balls with four boundaries and a six) taking them home comfortably.

Avhinash Mohan took all three wickets giving away 24 runs in seven overs.

At BSAM, Singapore defeated Malaysia by 53 runs.

Batting first, Ishaan Shekhar and Vikas Rajagopal each scored a half-century as Singapore posted 194/9 in 40 overs. Rajagopal scored 56 off 58 balls with three fours and two sixes while Shekhar got 52 off 60 balls with six boundaries for Singapore.

Rajagopal and Shekhar added 92 runs for second wicket. Shivan Ahuja (22), Samuez James Franks (17) and Keshav Rohit Rajgoapl (12) contributed in the total.

For Malaysia, Mohd Fetri Mohd Sham, Mohd Syahadat Ramli, Nik Nabil Safwan Anuay each grabbed two wickets.

Malaysia was bowled out for 141 in 35.2 overs with Ahuja taking 4/32 and Abhiraj Deep Sing claiming 3/24.

For Malaysia, Syahadat Ramli scored 33 and Amerul Hussein got 30 runs. But they squandered a strong start given by openers who added 43 runs in 9 overs.

“ACC has given us the complete responsibility of hosting the event,” CAN president Binaya Raj Pandey said in a press conference. “This is a matter of pride for us.”

Eight nations – Nepal, Kuwait, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia are participating in the event.

Apart from two umpires, one each from Thailand and Singapore, all other match officials are Nepali. ICC Associate and Affiliate Panel Umpire Buddhi Bahadur Pradhan will co-ordinate seven Nepali and two foreign umpires.

Fan urged for discipline

CAN has requested all spectators for a disciplined behaviour during the event. “ACC has given us the responsibility with a great faith,” Pandey said. “I welcome all cricket lovers and request to enjoy cricket as responsible fans.”

“Win and loss are part of the game,” he added. “For foreign teams, the behaviours of fans is a big thing and a small mistake from our side can damage our global image.”

Last month, due to unruly behaviour of spectators, the match between Nepal and USA during the World Cricket League Division 5 was stopped for half-an-hour. ICC has formed an investigation committee to study the breach of security.

All Nepali officials for the event

Satyajit Sarkar, Manohar Adhikari, Ram Kailash Yadav, Himal Raj Giri, Durga Nath Subedi and Raman Siwakoti will all stand as umpires while Hiralal Yadav, Sirish Upadhyay and Magilal Sharma are in the reserve poll of umpires.

Bijaya Sharma, former chief selector, and two former national captains LB Chhetri and Raju Khadka will act as match referees.

“ACC has decided to use former players as match referees which will make their role even more effective,” Pandey said.

For the participating teams, ACC has ruled that at least three players with citizenship are compulsory for each match. UAE and Qatar pulled out in the eleventh hour as they failed to get three national players. The event also coincided with examinations in UAE.

All the matches of event will be of 40 overs per innings and will begin at 9:45 a.m., according to umpire Pradhan. “Since this is a junior level event, helmet is compulsory for all batsmen,” he added.

The first eight overs will be powerplay while there will be four overs of bowling and batting powerplays.

Nepal is favorite: HK coach

On Monday, Nepal plays Hong Kong at the TU Cricket Ground. Hong Kong is coached by Sher Bahadur Lama, a Nepali who has also represented Hong Kong national side.

“Comparatively, Nepal is a favourite team,” Lama, who played for Baluwatar Cricket Club before moving to Hong Kong, said. “But we are not underdogs. Hong Kong is a balanced team.”

Lama said that he hoped a tight match. “The team that plays well on the given day will win the match,” he added.

In other matches, Kuwait meets Bahrain at IOE and Singapore faces Malaysia at BSAM.

Playing for title: coach, captain

Meanwhile, coach Roy Dias believed the team is strong enough to win the event.

According to him, the team is balanced and four batsmen – captain Swichan Shah, Nischal Pandey, Dipendra Chand and Sharad Khadka are capable enough to guide Nepal.

“I don’t think this is a proper side to take part in a major tournament. But still I believe the side is strong enough to lift the trophy as these boys have cricket in their blood and they have been playing cricket in their regions,” Dias told The Himalayan Times.

As Nepal’s coach, Dias has already guided U-15, U-17 and U-19 teams to the Asian level victories.

“This is the first U-16 event and I am looking forward to fare well in it,” Dias further told the daily newspaper ruling out any pressure to win the tournament.

Similarly, captain Swichan said that the team will play for the title. “Our aim is to win,” he said. “In Nepal, we have won all the age-group event and this time also, we will play to win.”

Shah hoped that Nischal, Sharad, Hari Chaulagain, Dipendra and Sanam Shrestha will be key players. “But it’s a team game and we all need to play good,” he added.

Schedule

According to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), Nepal plays Hong Kong in the Group A league match on March 31 at Unity Ground. Singapore, Kuwait and Oman are other teams in the group.

Nepal will face Oman on April 2, Kuwait on April 3 and Singapore on April 4 in the group stage matches. Nepal is 2002 finalist and three-time semifinalists of the event that began in 1996.

UAE, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Bhutan are drawn in Group B. The top two teams from each group qualify to the semifinals.
In 2008 ACC Trophy Malaysia, Nepal defeated Hong Kong by 44 runs in the first match. Nepal reached the semifinal but lost to UAE, whom Hong Kong beat in the final to lift trophy.

Nepal was placed fourth after losing to Afghanistan in the third-place playoff.

Although the finalists of the event had, on and off, participated in the Asia Cup involving four Asian Test nations, this time there will be no qualification due to tight schedule of the Test nations.

ACC Trophy Elite 2010
Groupings
Group A: Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, Kuwait and Oman
Group B: UAE, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Bhutan

Schedule

Date	Match	Venue
March 31	Kuwait v Singapore Afghanistan v Bahrain Hong Kong v Nepal	KEC Hubara Unity
April 1	Bahrain v Malaysia Kuwait v Oman Bhutan v UAE	KEC Hubara Unity
April 2	Afghanistan v UAE Hong Kong v Singapore Nepal v Oman	KEC Hubara Unity
April 3	Kuwait v Nepal Afghanistan v Malaysia Bahrain v Bhutan	KEC Hubara Unity
April 4	Bhutan v Malaysia Bahrain v UAE Oman v Singapore Kuwait v Hong Kong	KEC Hubara Unity Sulaibiya
April 6	Hong Kong v Oman Nepal v Singapore Malaysia v UAE Afghanistan v Bhutan	KEC Hubara Unity Sulaibiya
April 7	7th/8th Place Playoff (A4 v B4) SF1 (A1 v B2) SF2 (A2 v B1)	KEC Hubara Unity
April 8	9th/10th Place Playoff (A5 v B5) 5th/6th Place Playoff (A3 v B3)	KEC Unity
April 9	FINAL 3rd/4th Place Playoff	Hubara Unity

WCL Div 5 champions Nepal. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

The left-arm orthodox bowler took 7/15 to reduce USA from 150/3 to 172 all out — a score that Nepal surpassed in 46.5 overs losing five wickets to the delight of 15,000-odd fans at the TU Ground.

It was a wonderful comeback for the youngest member of the team, who was sidelined for two years for suspicious activities during the 2008 Youth World Cup.

“I am very happy to be back after a long bad time,” an emotional Rahul said after receiving the man-of-the-match award. “I came back and performed. I had worked hard when I was missing tournaments.”

Man of the final Rahul Biswokarma who took 7 for 15. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

USA had a brilliant start, especially due to the contribution of captain Steve Massiah (55) and Orlando Baker (49), despite losing Lennox Cush early on. Their 91-run stand for the second wicket and 41 between Massiah and Sushil Nadkarni had put the visitors on the top.

Rahul bowled first four overs ´round the wicket´ without success and then switched to ´over the wicket´ to claim Massiah. Shakti Gauchan produced a spectacular diving catch for Rahul´s first wicket.

“There was turn on the pitch,” he said. “But the batsmen were playing easy and I decided to switch over the wicket. And, it was good for me.”

Then onwards it was Rahul´s show. He took every remaining wicket in his 8.2 overs giving away 15 runs for seven wickets and the fourth best bowling performance for Nepal.

Coach Roy Dias and captain Paras Khadka with WCL Div 5 trophy. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

“Rahul changed the whole thing, it was a magical spell,” coach Roy Dias praised the 18-year-old. “It´s a wonder for a youngster like him to take seven wickets in a one-dayer.”

The youngster said he was not thinking about wickets. “I just wanted to bowl on the right spot,” he added as his proud parents, who had traveled from Butwal, watched him play.

Until the final, he was shadowed by other experienced spinners — Basanta Regmi, Sanjam Regmi and Shakti Gauchan, but it was his day. Sanjam grabbed a wicket along with Binod Das.

“When we started we were placed well at 150/3 but then we lost the last seven wickets for 20 odd runs. That´s where all went wrong,” Massiah commented. “The spell Rahul bowled won the game for Nepal.”

Gyanendra Malla and Mehboob Alam shake hands with USA players and umpires after conclusion of the final. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

In reply of the tricky total, Nepal began with Mahesh Chhetri and Anil Mandal, who had opened together for U-19 teams, and it proved a wise decision.

They partnered 85 runs in 22.5 overs giving Nepal the best start in the tournament. Anil was first out on 37 off 66 and Chhetri followed soon making 28 off 73.

Although the introduction of Tim Allen and Cush slowed down the run-rate, Nepal were well positioned to win the game. Gyanendra Malla scored unbeaten 28, Shakti 23 and Mehboob Alam unbeaten 17 with a six and a four to achieve the victory.

“They batted sensibly because 170 was always achievable,” Massiah commented. “The pitch was little slower when they batted. They adopted well, they are the deserving winners.”

Coach Dias said it was a high-class performance. “For the very first time, we got a very good start. It was very, very important,” he added.

15,000 attended the final. Photo by NepalSportsPhoto.com

USA coach Cleyton Lambart said Nepal outplayed them. “We were outplayed,” he said. “I think we gave them a fight towards the end. Once the openers got the start, it was an easy game for them.”

Nepal had previously won two triangulars involving Bhutan and the Maldives — Emerging Nations Trophy — but this is the first time they won a major tournament since the debut in international cricket in 1996.

Pleased with performance: Kennedy

[ICC Press Release] ICC Global Development Manager, Matthew Kennedy, was pleased with the performance of the Associate and Affiliate sides in this tournament. “The Pepsi ICC World Cricket League and the system of promotion and relegation we have in place is really helping the development of many countries and enabling them to find their relevant current ‘fit’ amongst their peers.

“It’s great to see the global rankings have a shake-up after this tournament and the various Members being able to progress up the table. Nepal won five out of its six matches and as such, has moved up to 29th position in the world while fellow Division 4 qualifier USA has jumped two places to 30th position” said Mr Kennedy.

Binaya Raj Pandey, president of Cricket Association of Nepal, said: “It has been a great pleasure to host the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League here in Nepal. To have hosted all the teams and see Nepal promoted to Division 4 has been a fantastic end to this week.”

Meanwhile, Bahrain secured third place after an exciting three-wicket win over Singapore.

Singapore struggled with the bat and was bowled out for 126 runs with Munish Arora top-scoring with 29. Bahrain’s spinners took full advantage of a turning wicket, with Tahir Dar finishing as the pick of bowlers with excellent figures of 4-29.

In reply, Bahrain got off to a terrible start when it was reduced to 16-3 before Imran Sajjad (34) and Ashraf Yaqoob (32) led the recovery.

A flurry of wickets gave Singapore hope when Bahrain slipped to at 105-7, before Fahar Sadeq (23 not out) and Tahir Dar (13 not out) took their side to victory with 89 balls remaining.

To add to Bahrain’s victory today, Tahir Dar was adjudged the Player of Tournament by the ICC umpires officiating at the tournament after the 38-year-old took 11 wickets at an average of 16.9 and also made 146 runs at an average of 36.5.

Referring to his achievement Dar said: “It would have been nice to be promoted but to be recognised as the Player-of-the-Tournament is something I’m proud of and shows that I am doing something right within the team and working my hardest.”

Jersey ended a disappointing week on a high after finishing fifth with a five-wicket win over Fiji.

Batting first, Fiji made 258-7, its highest total in the competition, with Iniasi Cakacaka (78) and Jo Rika (75) featuring in an excellent 161-run stand for the second wicket.

Jersey’s Ryan Driver was once again in fine form with the ball taking 4-58 to finish the event with 11 wickets from six matches.

In reply, Driver followed up his fine bowling performance with a superlative 78 from 104 balls as Jersey romped to victory with five balls to spare. Driver received good support from Peter Gough who contributed 58 not out from 57 balls.