Chasing a victory target of 369 in 40 overs, Nepal were 70/3 in 24 overs before the match ended. Namibia, needing only a draw to qualify to the only first-class cricket for associate countries, declared its second innings at 239/6 made off 62 overs. In first innings, they had scored 272 while Nepal managed just 143.

Chasing almost impossible target, Nepal lost opener Kaniska Chaugai for just 14 runs. He scored 10 of them before being castled by S Burger. Paresh Lohani and Sharad Vesawkar showed a little patient before both fell to AJ Burger. Paresh got 16 while Sharad got 11. At the end of the play, Gyanendra Malla (16) and Shakti Gauchan (9) were at the crease.

Earlier, Binod Das and leg-spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan each took two wickets while Aamir Akhtar and Shakti Gauchan claimed one each but the play was dominated by Namibian batsmen. G Snyman scored 78 not out to add to his first innings’ 60 while L Burger too got the half-century, 58. Mehboob Alam who just bowled two deliveries yesterday, one of them wide, didn’t bowl today.

Namibia now joins Scotland, Ireland and United Arab Emirates for the ICC InterContinental Cup. The other four are Kenya, Netherlands, Canada and Bermuda.

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Nepal was bowled out at 143 runs in the first innings while replying of Namibia’s first inning’s 272. Namibia was 10 without loss at stumps in second innings with an overall lead of 139 runs.

Paresh Lohani and Kaniska Chaugai gave Nepal a good start adding 45 runs before the U-19 captain failed to KB Burger after making 14. Paresh scored 34 in 74 balls before edging to wicket-keeper H Ludik off G Snyman.

Middle-order batsmen failed to show the patient as Namibian bowlers enjoyed home conditions well to outrun Nepal. Sharan Vesawkar (5), Shakti Gauhan (11), Gyanendra Malla (7), Mehboob Alam (13) and Binod Das (duck) couldn’t stay long.

Earlier, captain Binod Das’ heroics cleaned up the Namibia tail in just 12.2 overs play after the hosts resumed the play from 245/6. Binod took six wickets for 80 runs – his second best bowling after 6/29 against Hong Kong. He even denied the century for Deon Kotze, who just added four runs to his overnight 90, and gave a catch to Shakti Gauchan.

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Kotze, re-appointed captain after he resigned after leading the team in the 2003 World Cup, played 244 balls to rescue his team that was at a time 60 for 4 after being put into bat by Binod Das.

Aamir Akhtar, making his debut to the national team, picked two early wickets using the moist wicket. Basant Regmi, the hero of the U-19 Plate final against New Zealand, then grabbed a brace for himself with his left-arm spin.

Namibia’s responed through a 97-run stand between Kotze and Gerrie Snyman. Snyman hit four fours and two sixes in his 95-ball innings scoring 60 runs before falling Mehboob Alam. Kotze with Bjorn Kotze (28 not out) carried the team through to the close without any further loss. Alam too picked two wickets.

Brief Scorecard:

Toss: Nepal (field)
Namibia First Innings
AJ Burger c Alam b Regmi 43 (83)
D Botha c Katuwal b Akhtar 10 (39)
SF Burger c Katuwal b Akhtar 0 (3)
LJ Burger c Katuwal b Regmi 5 (28)
DB Kotze not out 90 (244)
G Snyman lbw Alam 60 (95)
SJ Swanepoel b Alam 4 (19)
BL Kotze not out 28 (116)
Extras (lb 2, w 1, nb 2) 5
Total (6 wickets, 104 overs) 245

FoW: 1-28, 2-32, 3-60, 4-60, 5-157, 6-175.

Nepal Bowling: Mehboob Alam 23-6-50-2, Binod Das 12-3-33-0, Aamir Akhtar 7-1-37-2, Shakti Gauchan 14-5-20-0, Basant Regmi 23-4-51-2, Raj Kumar Pradhan 18-4-39-0, Sharad Vesawkar 6-0-10-0, Gyanendra Malla 1-0-3-0

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Nepali cricket is on the high winning the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Plate Championship a month ago. But the senior side still has a few things to prove. This is the best and the only opportunity to break into the global cricketing circuit although its an arduous task.

If the seniors, especially the batsmen, can emulate half of the achievements of the U-19 team Nepal could achieve the unlikely.

“This is a very important opportunity for us as we could, although its difficult, enter the global cricketing circuit winning the four-day match,” said coach Roy Dias for whom the Namibia match holds greater significance than the U-19 triumph.

“However it is going to be a real tough task because this is the first time boys will be playing a four-day match,” he added.

The match simply could shape Nepal’s cricketing future as the winner will play at least three ICC Intercontinental Cup matches in the first year and then seven in the next two years. The top eight non-Test playing nations will be divided into two groups of four each and play each other inside the group for the first year. In the second year, all the eight members play against each other.

The win also means a very busy couple of years for the senior side and international exposure beyond the Asian-level. For that an outright win against the African country is a must for Nepal while a draw would be enough for Namibia to qualify.

For coach Dias, it would be a surprise if Nepal can notch up a win. “We are playing in new conditions while for Namibians its home conditions. Moreover, we don’t have much idea about the type of cricket Namibia plays,” said Dias. Nepal has played Namibia once and lost in the ICC Trophy in Canada five years ago.

Dias expected seamer friendly wickets with some bounce in Namibia. In that case Dias is in the mood of fielding four seamers along with a frontline spinner.

“We will decide the eleven after looking at the conditions,” said Dias who only has 13 players to choose from this time. Aamir Akhtar is an able replacement for all-rounder Paras Khadka according to skipper Binod Das. On Dias’s initiative Aamir was summoned for Namibia tour from England where he plays professional cricket.

Basanta Regmi, who was rewarded with a place in the senior side for his splendid performance in the U-19 World Cup, would probably fill in the third spinner’s role in the side behind Raj Kumar Pradhan and Raju Basnet.

Nepali pace attack has variety with two right arm quickies in Dhirendra Chand and the skipper Binod Das. Aamir and Mehboob Alam, the left armers, will have to share the fast bowling duty among them.

Batting still remains the weakest link in the senior side with Kanishka Chaugai, the inform U-19 skipper, Paresh Lohani along with Sharad Vesawkar as the trio.

Vice captain Shakti Gauchan who took a Dhirendra Chand bouncer in his eyes while practicing, could be still conscious and that is one of the concerns for Dias.

Mehboob, Binod, Shakti and Aamir will play the all-rounder role in the team that has a golden opportunity to make a mark in the international arena against the waves created by the juniors.

BY DEVENDRA SUBEDI (PHOTO: DURGA DULAL)

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Aamir Akhtar and U-19 hero Basant Regmi are two new faces in the national team while off-spinner Sanjam Regmi, U-19 vice captain Paras Khadka and pacer Avaya Rana missed the national squad. Paras chose to opt out of the team for his studies. All-rounder Aamir, who played for Nepal in 2000 U-19 Cricket World Cup has been playing professional cricket in England and Scotland.

Binod Das has been retained as captain while Shakti Gauchan made to the team despite eye injury sustained by a raising delivery from Dhirendra Chand during practice threatening his position. Dhirendra, opener Paresh Lohani, U-19 captain Kanishka Chaugai, leg-spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan, Sharad Vesawkar, Gyanendra Malla, wicket-keeper Manoj Katuwal and Raju Basnet are all named for the team.

Although the International Cricket Council (ICC) only asked for 12 players and two officials, CAN is sponsoring an extra cricketer. Roy Dias will be the coach while Sri Niwas Rana has been appointed the manager.

The match is a do-or-die for Nepal as the winner qualifies for the eight-team ICC InterContinental Cup. Nepal must win the match to qualify while a draw would be enough for Namibia for the qualification as they are positioned well than Nepal in ranking. The tie will the first four-day match Nepal would be playing.

The team leaves on Saturday, March 18.

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The match will be played from February 17 to 19. The tour is organized as a preparation for the upcoming InterContinental Cup play-off match against Namibia scheduled for March 23-26 in Windhoek.

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Development Officer Rumesh Ratnayake is arriving Nepal on February 27 to help the team prepare for the important tie, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) said in a press release. CAN has also stated that before leaving for Namibia, Nepali team will face another Indian side in New Delhi.

The team: Binod Das, Shakti Gauchan, Paresh Lohani, Raju Basnet, Raj Kumar Pradhan, Sanjam Regmi, Mehboob Alam, Dhirendra Chand, Manjit Shrestha, Manoj Vaishya, Manoj Katuwal, Puspa Thapa, Antim Thapa, Akash Gupta, Suresh Pandey (coach), Sri Niwas Rana (manager) and Udaya Shah (official).

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The teams to compete in the event were selected according to their combined ranking of one-day and three-day matches. Nepal’s overall ranking was ninth overall while Namibia was seventh with Holland eighth. Since Holland has qualified for the World Cup 2007, they were preferred. Nepal has been given a chance because it ranks seventh in the multi-day format.

There are also a few changes in the format of the event. The 2006 tournament will see four day matches and the teams will be divided into two groups. The group winners will play the final. This setup will again change in 2007 and 2008 with all eight teams playing a round-robin league over a period of two years.

The new format was agreed at the recent meeting of the ICC Development Committee (held in Kathmandu). And as soon as it is deemed affordable, appropriate and feasible, it is planned to add a second division, bringing with it the opportunity for promotion and relegation, according to ICC.

Commenting on the new format, ICC Global Development Manager Mathew Kennedy said: “This new format means we can truly have the best playing the best for the right to be called the top Associate side at first-class level.

“The existing regional system was an excellent starting point towards establishing the ICC Intercontinental Cup as a major international competition but it did have its limitations.

“With only one team from each of the four regions qualifying for the semi-finals it meant it was not always possible to ensure the four strongest sides reached that knock-out stage.

“This format removes that issue and also gives each side the chance to play more first-class matches.

“And although the playing conditions for the 2006 tournament are yet to be finalised, the switch to four-day matches also means we now have the option to dispense with the current complex bonus points system as the extra time gives us a much better chance to get positive results,” he added.

The two groups for the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup are as follows:

Group A: Ireland, Scotland, United Arab Emirates, Namibia or Nepal
Group B: Kenya, Bermuda, Canada, Netherlands

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It was Mehboob Alam’s day at the TU Cricket Stadium today as Nepal raced to an amazing victory of an innings and 66 runs over Malaysia in the ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament match, to qualify for the ICC Inter-Continental Cup 2006.

Mehboob scored a century to help Nepal pile up 300/8 in 88.1 overs and took two wickets in the first over of the Malaysian second innings, in which they were bowled out for a paltry 102. Mehboob had taken two wickets yesterday to help bundle out Malaysia in its first innings for 132.

With the victory, Nepal added 30 points to its 57.5 points earned from it’s earlier three matches to go the top of the points table. Malaysia, who got 8.5 points, is in second position with a total of 79 points. UAE and Singapore, with a game remaining between them, have 70 and 52 points respectively.

If Singapore beat UAE in the last tie of the ACC FTCT, Nepal will win the title. Even a draw can give Nepal the trophy. The top three teams from the five-nation event qualify for the ICC Inter-Continental Cup.

Resuming on 114/4, Mehboob set the ground on fire with his cautious but powerful shots. He rarely played any risky shots and raced to his half-century in 47 balls. It took him 96 balls to complete the deserved century – the second only after Paresh Lohani’s 101 not out against Singapore in three-day matches, with four sixes and 12 boundaries.

He partnered vice-captain Shakti Gauchan for a 126-run partnership, the best for Nepal, in their two-hour stay at crease. Shakti, who scored 39, only contributed 20 runs in the partnership. “It was fantastic,” coach Roy Dias praised Mehboob’s innings. “He is the best all-rounder in the region.”

Mehboob said he concentrated on cautious batting after coach asked him for a century. “I now feel good about it,” Mehboob said.

Wicket-keeper Manoj Katuwal justified his comeback in the national team scoring an unbeaten 21 and partnering 50 runs with Dhirendra Chand for the eighth wicket. Dhirendra, displaying qualities of becoming a good all-rounder, scored 25. The two played a vital role in helping Nepal earn six whole points scoring 300 in the first innings.

Malaysia’s hopes for staying long, was wrecked by three early wickets. Mehboob trapped opener Rohan Selvaratnam with a beautiful incoming delivery on the first ball and got another wicket, two balls later when Somerset player Arul Suppiah drove straight to Paresh Lohani at mid-off.

To add to that, Binod Das struck on the first ball as Shaker Retnam half-heartedly tried to pull a rising delivery and top-edged. Manoj completed a simple catch. The notable contribution came from Eszrafiq Abdul Aziz (30) and M Krishnamurthi (27) but it was too difficult for Malaysia to resist Nepali bowling. Leg-spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan and Shakti Gauchan picked three wickets each.

“I am very happy – for the players, for Nepali cricket,” Dias said. “To win it in two days is great and it was a result of a great team effort.” Captain Binod Das took the win as a gift. “We were confident after beating UAE,” he said. “Luck favored us and we played good cricket.”

Malaysian coach Michael John Bailey praised Nepal’s game. “Nepal outplayed us in every department,” he told the Post. “They thoroughly deserved to win.”

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Malaysia 1st Inns 132 All Out (Overs 55.4)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
R Selvaratnam	ÂÂ	b B Das	9	14	1	0
R Madhavan	c M Katuwal	b M Alam	5	35	1	0
Arul Suppiah	c P Lohani	b B Das	5	25	1	0
Shankar R+	lbw	b M Alam	4	9	0	0
S Muthuraman	lbw	b D Chand	16	54	3	0
E Aziz	c M Katuwal	b D Chand	13	21	1	0
M Krishnamurthi	c M Katuwal	b B Das	49	100	6	0
RV Suppiah	c S Veswakar	b D Chand	11	24	1	0
S Navaratnam*	lbw	b S Regmi	9	8	2	0
M Muniandy	c K Chaugai	b RK Pradhan	1	10	0	0
M Singh	not out	ÂÂ	4	37	0	0
extras	ÂÂ	(b0 lb3 w0 nb3)	6	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ
TOTAL	ÂÂ	10 wickets for	132	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ

 

FOW

1-13(R Selvaratnam) 2-20(Arul Suppiah) 3-20(R Madhavan) 4-25(Shankar R) 5-46(E Aziz) 6-71(S Muthuraman) 7-87(RV Suppiah) 8-100(S Navaratnam) 9-107(M Muniandy) 10-132(M Krishnamurthi)

 

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
M Alam	11	2	22	2	-	2
B Das	13.4	4	32	3	-	-
D Chand	13	3	36	3	-	1
S Gauchan	4	1	9	0	-	-
S Regmi	9	1	22	1	-	-
RK Pradhan	5	1	8	1	-	-

 

Nepal 1st Inns 300/8 Dec (Overs 88.1)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
P Lohani	c sub	b RV Suppiah	35	61	6	0
K Chaugai	c E Aziz	b M Singh	26	81	4	0
S Veswakar	ÂÂ	b M Singh	0	13	0	0
S Gauchan	lbw	b Arul Suppiah	39	137	2	0
P Khadka	c S Muthuraman	b Arul Suppiah	17	37	1	0
M Alam	c M Muniandy	b M Krishnamurthi	108	111	12	4
B Das*	c M Muniandy	b M Krishnamurthi	10	25	2	0
M Katuwal+	not out	ÂÂ	21	30	2	0
D Chand	c M Muniandy	b Arul Suppiah	25	30	4	0
S Regmi	not out	ÂÂ	0	5	0	0
RK Pradhan	dnb	ÂÂ	-	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ
extras	ÂÂ	(b5 lb8 w5 nb1)	19	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ
TOTAL	ÂÂ	8 wickets for	300	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ

 

FOW

1-66(P Lohani) 2-66(K Chaugai) 3-73(S Veswakar) 4-104(P Khadka) 5-230(S Gauchan) 6-249(B Das) 7-249(M Alam) 8-299(D Chand)

 

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
S Navaratnam	14.1	0	57	0	5	-
M Muniandy	8	0	22	0	-	-
M Singh	16	4	35	2	-	1
RV Suppiah	14	1	73	1	-	-
Arul Suppiah	20	7	37	3	-	-
E Aziz	8	1	31	0	-	-
M Krishnamurthi	8	1	32	2	-	-

 

Malaysia 2nd Inns 102 All Out (Overs 41.4)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
R Selvaratnam	lbw	b M Alam	0	1	0	0
R Madhavan	lbw	b S Gauchan	17	52	3	0
Arul Suppiah	c P Lohani	b M Alam	0	2	0	0
Shankar R+	c M Katuwal	b B Das	1	3	0	0
S Navaratnam*	c P Khadka	b S Gauchan	9	51	1	0
E Aziz	c K Chaugai	b RK Pradhan	30	41	3	1
S Muthuraman	st M Katuwal	b S Gauchan	0	9	0	0
M Krishnamurthi	c M Alam	b RK Pradhan	27	42	4	0
RV Suppiah	lbw	b S Regmi	13	35	2	0
M Muniandy	c K Chaugai	b RK Pradhan	3	13	0	0
M Singh	not out	ÂÂ	0	1	0	0
extras	ÂÂ	(b0 lb2 w0 nb0)	2	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ
TOTAL	ÂÂ	10 wickets for	102	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ

 

FOW

1-0(R Selvaratnam) 2-0(Arul Suppiah) 3-1(Shankar R) 4-28(R Madhavan) 5-39(S Navaratnam) 6-41(S Muthuraman) 7-77(E Aziz) 8-92(M Krishnamurthi) 9-100(M Muniandy) 10-102(RV Suppiah)

 

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
M Alam	6	2	16	2	-	-
B Das	9	5	13	1	-	-
S Gauchan	10	4	30	3	-	-
D Chand	2	0	4	0	-	-
S Regmi	6.4	2	13	1	-	-
RK Pradhan	8	1	24	3	-	-

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Shakti Gauchan and aggressive Mehboob Alam were at the crease when the bad light stopped the first day’s play a little earlier than scheduled. At the end of the first day, Nepal has earned 7 points while Malaysia has 4.5.

Nepali seam bowlers utilized the early morning moisture and the swing it generates and dominated the Malaysian batsmen. Malaysia started cautiously and tried to save wickets. They were successful until Rohan Selvaratnam (9) misread the line of Binod Das’ ball. Rohan left an inswinger and saw his off-stump going down.

Somerset player Arul Vivasan Suppiah (5) joined Rakesh Madhavan and showed no interest in run-making. In six overs, they just made 7 runs and that was end of Arul. He sliced Binod and Paresh took a brilliant low catch at gully.

It was then Mehboob took the lead. Rakesh (5) edged to Manoj Katuwal, who returned to national team after long layoff, and caught Shanker Retnam (4) plumb in front the stumps.

Another seamer in the team, Dhirendra bowled his hearts out replacing Binod and got the results. He took three – one after another and made it 87/7. His victims were Esrafiq Abdul Aziz (13), S Mutthuraman (16) and Rohan Vishu Suppiah (11).

When the Malaysian scorecard looked like reading a phone number, M Krishnamurathi had some others ideas. The No 7 batsman played 100 deliveries and played with ease. He scored 49 with six fours and when he looked like reaching his deserved half-century after 25-run partnership with last man Manrick Singh (4), he was adjudged leg before off Binod.

Krishnamurathi was the last man out and before that Sanjam Regmi and Raj Kumar Pradhan both struck in their first overs to remove Suresh Navaratnam and M Muniandy respectively. Suresh, who hit two fours to Sanjam, was trapped in the last ball of the over.

Paresh Lohani (35) and Kaniska Chaugai (26) shared a 66-run opening partnership to put Nepal on a better foundation. Paresh, the only Nepali batsman to score over 500 runs in three-dayers, got 35 before trying to play Rohan on the on-side and finding a fielder at short-leg. Kaniska, who was dropped at slip when he was on 11, went on same score edging to first slip off Manrick Singh.

Manrick also bowled Sarad Vesawkar for naught. Sarad completely missed a leg-stump delivery. Paras Khadka scored 17 before failing to Arul.

The Coaches’ Reactions

“It was good toss to win,” Nepali coach Roy Dias said. “I am impressed with bowling and fielding and the bowlers did the good use of conditions and did the basics.”

“Batting is still a big task,” he added. “After good start, we needlessly lost three wickets.”

“I am hoping that Mehboob and Shakti will bat through the first hour tomorrow and then we will decide on our plans. The first hour is very important.”

Malaysian coach Michael John Bailey was impressed with Nepali bowling. “Nepal did well,” he said. “But in last session, we returned to game taking wickets and drying up runs.”

When asked about his team’s dismal batting performance, he said: “I give full credit to Nepali bowlers, they made good use of moisture.”

“Its absolutely amazing and unbelievable to play on the backdrops of mountains,” Bailey who is visiting Nepal for the first time said about the ground.

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