In an attempt to lift the ACC Elite Cup Trophy for the first time, Nepal will take on tournament favorites Afghanistan in the final at Hubara Ground of Kuwait on Friday.
Afghanistan, with One-Day International (ODI) status and qualifiers for the ICC World Cup Twenty20, won the ACC Twenty20 five months ago and are a favorite to add one more feather to their cap.
However, Nepal have played with a cricketing sense and skills that were long due and are in every way capable of turning the tables on Afghanistan.
Also, Nepal need to level the field as the loss to Afghanistan in the semifinal of the World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey in 2008 by 47 runs had pushed them on the backfoot of world cricket. The loss was one of three losses that Nepal suffered from Afghanistan — the other two being the third-place playoffs of 2006 and 2008 ACC Trophy.
The only time Nepal beat Afghanistan was in 2004 ACC Trophy but then Afghanistan was just a new entrant to world cricket and Nepal was already an experienced team.
But things are different this time in Kuwait. While Afghanistan narrowly escaped the first-round exit by defeating Malaysia by a run and lost to UAE; Nepal´s progress was steadily built on dynamic form of cricket.
Nepal beat Hong Kong, Oman, Singapore and Kuwait convincingly to enter the semifinal when it survived the Malaysian scare and the semifinal jinx to register an eight-run victory.
On Friday, both teams will be in their full strength as both vice-captains Gyanendra Malla of Nepal and Mohd Nabi of Afghanistan have reached and played well after visa hiccups.
Nabi, the best Afghan cricketer, was man of the match in the semifinal against Hong Kong which they won by 5 wickets.
From WCL Div 5 in Kathmandu, which Nepal won, Paras Khadka´s men are upbeat and playing a confident cricket. The captain, despite his poor form in Kuwait, would like to see the momentum carried on to make him the most successful captain.
Batting had come good as Anil Mandal and Mahesh Chhetri´s opening pair proving vital while middle-order led by Shakti Gauchan, Sharad Vesawkar and Gyanendra is on top form. Dipendra Chaudhary and Mehboob Alam are further down the order making it a strong batting lineup. Bowling had always been a strength of Nepali side.
The formidable batting lineup of Afghanistan and their speedy seamers along with noisy supporters, the final will be a dream contest and the team that plays a better cricket will emerge victorious.
Nepal vs Afghanistan
Total match played: 4 Afghanistan won: 3 Nepal won: 1
2008 WCL Div 5: Afghanistan 142 in 49.3 overs (M Nabi 48, Basant 3/30, Shakti 3/12, Binod 2/22) defeated Nepal 105 all out in 45.5 overs (Mehboob 17, Ahmadzai 3/18, M Nabi 2/15) by 37 runs.
2008 ACC Trophy: Nepal 210/8 (Kaniskha 43, Mahesh 29, Paras 22) lost to Afghanistan 213/7 in 48.2 overs (M Nabi 55, S Samiullah 51, Paras 3/34) by 3 wickets.
2006 ACC Trophy: Afghanistan 270/8 (M Nabi 60, K Sadiq 55, N Mangal 49, A Shah 46, Paras 3/36) defeated Nepal 115/5 in 33.4 overs (Shakti 42, Paras 33*, A Shah 3/33) by 64 runs under Duckworth-Lewis Method.
2004 ACC Trophy: Nepal 147 in 48.2 overs (Paras 34, Mehboob 33, Sharad 28, A Shah 5/14) defeated Afghanistan 100 in 41.2 overs (A Shah 30, N Mangal 28, Raj Kumar 4/21, Paras 2/8, Shakti 2/10) by 47 runs.
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Afghans are swines, dogs and sons of bitches. Good luck nepal jai nepal
Hey mate whats your problem??Does that make you feel good?? Are you now happy??What kind of fool are you to write those words?? Your types of people are not allowed here. Be respectful to all and show some mannerism.
hey man mind ur language … we should pray for better future of both teams becz both belong to asia….
i will not abuse u but will pray for u that God may show u the right path,,, Amin
hai thise is imran khan .
Good luck Boys….All the best….We all Neplease are eagerly waiting the victory over Afgan. Indeed, we need this win each and every aspect. We all are just praying and praying. You guys just show your talents without any hesitation. Don’t loose yours confidence and rock on over the pitch at Hubara.
you have to win at any cost for the nation because we are really hunger of victroy and we have prove ourselfs that we are Lion not a dog….roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Good luck guys
A true Nepali
when did our match plz send me list
hey, guys aaja ko din j bhaya ni hamrai ho so aajako match jasari ni jitchhau
BEST OF LUCK
Does any one know what time the game is going to start? exactly?
Nepali timi thik 11:00am dheki start ho match
Rohit Ajya
you are out of control, is here any editor to stop these kind of rubbish words. Nonsense, and its not good for nepali pride as they speak for.
Khusal,
We are very sorry for such comment made by Rohit Ajya . We find this immature. On behalf of whole Nepalese would like to express regret for such comment and hopefully Mr Rohit will take back his words.
Consistency, confidence, killer instinct and team effort,coupled with individual brilliance are keys to Nepal’s success against the formidable Afghanistan. So far the team has played scintillating cricket to keep its slate clean.They have toyed and thumped opponents with a combination of solid batting, effective bowling and tidy fielding. Indeed, it has been a great run for the team to this point.
That said, the final show down against Afghanistan is intriguing and challenging. Not only are they talented and dangerous but a tough nut to crack. To prevail over them, Nepal has to be at its very best and cannot afford any kind of complacency. Long as the team sticks to its game plan and play with the same kind of vigor, aggression and confidence as they have been ,success, certainly can smile on them.
go on nepallllll
ALAM IS NOT PLAYING TODAY because of injury ,CRAP.OH MAN NOT GOOD.HE IS A MATCH WINNER FOR US.
Looks like Paras and Roy trying to utilizr the Afghani weakness of not playing spinners well. Shakti is bowling first over. INTeresting
14/2 after 6 overs can’t get better than this. dismissing them below 150 looks possible. go get em boys, we can create history today.
get some wickets guys…keen to see victory…jai Nepal
best of luck guys… go get another silverware for us… 91/3 not bad but could have been better considering the pressure after the fall of 3 wickets as early as below 40… anyways guys its our time to cherish…
Best of Luck whatever the target I believe that you guys will achieved and…we wish Friday night gone a rock today………….. Jai Nepal …
nepal sure will win the game
i belive in our team
Hey Guys,
Can anybody post the latest score regularly?
Allahamdullellah our team will the coming champion… Inshallah. we will Pray for our team to win the T20 World Cap…Inshallah
Rohit Ajia…Control yourself dont be redicules. i think you dont know about our hitory if you dont then ask your grand father he will tel what is the history of AFHGANISTAN…Next time be careful