Nepali team, led by Coach Pubudu Dassanayake and Captain Paras Khadka, will play six T20 matches and two 50-over matches in Mumbai during the tour. The tam will reach Bhairahawa by road and take train to reach Mumbai on February 2.

Nepali team will take on Cricket Club of India (CCI) in a T20 match on February 4 and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust on February 5. Nepali team will lock horns with Nerul Gymkhana in a 50-over match on February 6 and Khadka’s boys will face DY Patil Club in a T20 match on February 7.

Islam Gymkhana will host Nepali team next morning in a 50-over match. On February 9 and 10, Nepal will get Police Gym Club and Dilip Vensarkar Cricket Academy respectively in T20 matches.

February 11 will be a rest day for the team while Nepali team will take on Thana District team in a T20 match on February 12 before returning to Kathmandu.

“I’m in touch with some Scottish and English players training in Pune, India. I’m expecting a T20 match against a combined team of those players on February 3. However, it is yet to be finalized,” said Coach Dassanayake.

Significance of the tour

TB Shah, the First Vice President of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), said that the Mumbai-tour is the first step taken by the association in the direction of giving match exposure to the players of national team.

“This is the first step taken by CAN to provide practice matches to our players on different ground, weather and crowd conditions as well as against better opponents,” said Shah.

For national team coach Dassanayake, the Mumbai-tour is an opportunity to find proper mixture of the national team.

“I’m not looking for big results in this tour. However, it could be a chance to build winning momentum and to identify our top five batsmen and top five bowlers,” said Dassanayake.

“Everybody in the team will get proper chance in the tour and I’ll try to find proper mixture of the team before the ICC World T20 Qualifiers,” he added.

Nepali skipper Khadka expects the tour to be a tough one. “I’m expecting tough opponents in the tour, which will expose our weaknesses,” said Khadka.

“After the tour we’ll have time to correct our weaknesses,” he added.

What is training plan after the tour?

According to Coach Dassanayake, he will start a closed camp training and fast bowling camp on parallel from February 16.

“We’ll spot our weaknesses during the tour and we’ll try to focus on our weaker areas in the closed camp training that will undergo for three weeks,” said Dassanayake.

“We are expecting ACC Development-Officer Rumesh Ratnayake to be here in Kathmandu by February 16 and the fast bowling camp will undergo side by side,” he added.

Dassanayake is also expecting at least two warm-up matches in the UAE. “We want to reach Dubai at least 3-4 days earlier of the tournament and have few warm-up matches,” he said.

According to skipper Paras Khadka, all the players will undergo fitness test before flying to Dubai.

What happened in the last 10 days?

The CAN announced 18-member squad for the Mumbai-tour on January 24 and it is the preliminary squad for the ICC World T20 Qualifiers.

After a round of fitness test and five practice matches, CAN has selected 18-member squad.

In the five practice matches, Pradeep Airee was on the top among the batsmen. Airee scored 138 runs in five matches facing altogether 130 balls. He remained unbeaten twice and scored with an average of 46.

Paresh Lohani was the second on the highest scorers’ list. He scored 134 runs in five matches facing altogether 152 balls with an average of 26.8.

Skipper Khadka scored 80 runs playing in four innings of the five practice matches. He is on the third position among the highest run getters but his average is 20 and his highest score is 25.

Among the bowlers, Basant Regmi remained on the top. He took eight wickets bowling 19.2 overs with the economy of 3.72. Binod Das took seven wickets bowling 14 overs with the economy of 5.92.

Rahul Vishwakarma claimed six wickets in the five practice matches. He bowled 14 overs during the practice matches with the economy of 6.35.

However, Das is not included in the team touring to Mumbai.

Team Combination

The team touring Mumbai includes Paresh Lohani but excludes Binod Das. This is the first time in almost 13 years that Das was not considered for a team he is qualified to play for while Lohani had pulled out his name from the team for the Pepsi World Cricket League Division 5 held in Kathmandu in February 2010 citing personal reasons. Lohani hadn’t featured in the national team ever since.

“We’ve explained Binod (Das) about his exclusion. Amrit (Bhattarai) is our opening bowler and Krishna Karki is also well-shaped bowler against middle order. As we picked Amrit and Krishna in the team, we looked for an aggressive and young fast bowler and Avinash Karn fit there,” said Dassanayake.

“Binod (Das) is still a good option for us for 50-over format,” he added.

The other players in the 18-member squad are Gyanendra Malla, Prithu Baskota, Subash Khakurel, Basanta Regmi, Binod Bhandari, Sharad Vesawkar, Sanjam Regmi, Pradeep Airee, Shakti Gauchan, Rahul Vishwakarma, Anil Mandal, Mehboob Alam and Chandra Saud.

(Ed: The write-up appeared in Republica national daily, on 31st January, 2012)

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The CAN has called in Paresh Lohani in the preliminary squad.

Lohani, who was in the team for Pepsi World Cricket League Division 5 held in Kathmandu on February 2010 but pulled out his name from the team citing personal reasons, hadn’t made comeback in the national team since then.

According to the CAN, the 18-member squad will tour India for practice matches before the Qualifiers and the final 14-member squad will be selected after the India tour.

Paras Khadka is assigned as captain of the Nepali squad for the India tour. The 18-member team includes Gyanendra Malla, Prithu Baskota, Subash Khakurel, Basant Regmi, Binod Bhandari, Sharad Vesawkar, Sanjam Regmi, Pradeep Airee and Shakti Gauchan.

Likewise, Rahul Kumar Vishwakarma, Krishna Karki, Amrit Bhattarai, Anil Mandal, Avinash Karn, Mehboob Alam and Chandra Saud are included in the preliminary squad.

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According to the provisional fixture published by Asian Cricket Council (ACC), defending champions Nepal faces Malaysia on February 4, UAE on February 5 and Thailand on February 7.

Two-time champions Nepal has been placed in group A.

Despite most of the girls participating in both the victories, including Nary Thapa, have crossed the age bar, the present squad is having many new players, a new coach and a new captain. But, the team is still confident of defending the title.

“Though we have new players in the squad, our bowling is good and the batsmen can bat for full 25 overs,” coach Navin Singh told Republica daily. “We need improvement in fielding as the players have been dropping catches in practice matches.”

Singh guided region no 7 Janakpur for the inaugural National U-19 Women´s Cricket Tournament last month.

Captain Rubina Chhetri, member of the U-19 squad which defended the title last year, said that the current squad is one of the best teams in the U-19. “In the past, our strength was bowling but in this squad our strength is in many departments.”

Chief selector Bijay Kumar Sharma expressed his confidence that the squad will lift the title. “Though the current squad has new players, senior players in the squad are helping new players improve their game.”

Sharma added the squad is somewhat weak in fielding, which may cause trouble for the team. “Due to lack of match experience, players are having trouble in running between the wickets as well.”

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Janakpur also qualified for the semifinal beating Birgunj by 45 runs at the TU Ground.

At IOE, Bhairahawa scored 125 for 9 wickets batting first. Prarikchhya Bashyal topscored with 29 in 42 balls while Indu got quickfire 28 off just 20 balls in a knock that included 5 fours. Ekta Gurung contributed with 14 off 16.

Mamata Chaudhary and Anu KC got three wickets each for Nepalgunj.

In reply, Indu claimed 4 wickets for 17 runs as Nepalgunj were bowled out for 79 in 13.4 overs. Aksha Gurung and Sudha Thapa assisted with 2 wickets each. Samjhana Sharma and Kamala Budathoki topscored for losing side getting 9 runs each.

In earlier match, host Kathmandu beat Pokhara by 78 runs.

Kathmandu's Shilu Rijal during her 4 wicket haul. Photo by Kaushal Adhikari

Batting first, Kathmandu scored 128 for 2 with Sangita Gauchan and captain Shradda Aryal topscoring for the team. Sangita remained unbeaten on 38 off 44 balls while Shradda got 36 off 43 balls. Shilu Rijal con-tributed with 15 runs. All three of them hit 3 fours each. Cristine Tamang scored 13.

For Pokhara Prabha Nepali and Arya Aryal claimed a wicket each.

Player of the match Shilu then grabbed 4 wickets for 10 runs while Karuna Lama grabbed 3 wickets for 7 runs to bowl out Pokhara for 50 runs in 13.4 overs. Sumina Maharjan assisted with 2 wickets and Shradda claimed a wicket.

For Pokhara, Only Prabha scored in double-digit getting 11 off 15 balls.

At TU Ground, Janakpur outplayed Birgunj to move to the semifinals. Batting first, Janakpur scored 120 for 5 wickets with Anuradha Chaudhary and Shanti Chaudhary getting runs for the team. Player of the match Anuradha scored 45 off 50 balls with 6 fours and Shanti got 38 off 41 with four boundaries.

Rojina Aryal claimed 2 wickets for Birgunj. Subhadra Adhikari, Puja Giri and Nirmala Pakuwal each got a wicket.

Birgunj were bowled out for 75 in last over. Preety Thapa (18 off 25 balls) was the top scorer while other notable contributors were Rabina Ghimire (10) and Manisha Chaulagain (9). Laxmi Chaudhary led the bowl-ing with 3 for 15 as Mamata Chaudhary, Kabita Gautam and Anuradha each claimed a wicket.

In another match, Baitadi handed over Biratnagar their second defeat registering a 12-run victory. Batting first, Baitadi scored 95 for 5 wickets with player of the match Dropati Kunwar scoring 44 runs of 60 balls and Manisha Sodari getting 21.

Rubina Chhetri bowled well to claim 4 wickets giving away just 6 runs in 4 overs.

Sabina Shrestha got 35 off 55 balls for Biratnagar but no other batswomen contributed for the total as the team was restricted to 83 for 9 wickets. Chetana Bohara grabbed two wickets while Puja Bhatta, Roshani Chand and Anjali Chand each got a wicket.

On Friday, Birgunj meets Baitadi at IOE Ground and Kathmandu plays Nepalgunj at TU Ground in second matches of the day. The winners of both these matches will qualify to the semifinals.

Early in the morning, Bhairahawa will play Pokhara at TU Ground and Janakpur plays Biratnagar at IOE.

Woman’s U-19 National Cricket Tournament

AT TU GROUND

Janakpur 120/5 (Anuradha 45, Shanti 38, Rojina 2/24) beat Birgunj 75 in 19.5 over (Preety18, Laxmi 3/15) by 45 runs & enters semifinal.

Baitadi 95/5 (Dropati 44, Manisha 21, Rubina 4/6) beat Biratnagar 83/9 (Sabina 35, Chetana 2/16) by 12 runs.

AT IOE GROUND

Bhairahawa 125/9 in 20 overs (Pratikchhya Bashyal 29, Indu Berma 28, Mamata Chaudhary 3w, Anu KC 3w) beat Nepalgunj 79 all out in 13.4 overs (Indu Berma 4/17) by 46 runs and entered the semifinal.

Kathmandu 128/2 (Sangita Gauchan 38*, Shradda Aryal 36*, Shilu Rijal 15) beat Pokhara 50 all out in 13.4 ov (Shilu Rijal 4/10, Karuna Lama 3w) by 78 runs.

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Bhairahawa beat host Kathamandu by 37 runs at the TU Cricket Ground. Batting first, Bhairahawa scored 117 for 7 in 20 overs. Player of the match Indu Berma scored 33 not out off 36 balls with four boundaries to help her team reach the total.

Praikshya Bashyal and Aksha Gurung each scored 13 while Kamala Rai was the most successful Kathmandu bowler taking 4 wickets for 13 runs. Shilu Rijal, Sumina Maharjan and Shraddha Aryal each grabbed a wicket.

Sangita Gauchan scored 29 off 37 balls for Kathmandu in the reply but other batswomen could not hold long enough as Kathmandu were bowled out for 80 in 19.4 overs. Indu, Aksha, Babita Giri and Saiya Gurung each took two wickets for the winners.

In second match at the TU Ground, Nepalgunj outplayed Pokhara for a huge 80-run victory. Batting first, Nepalgunj scored 123 for 1 in 20 overs with Saraswoti GM getting a half-century. Her unbeaten 52 off 58 balls scored with the help of 7 boundaries put Nepalgunj on top.

Gita Gosai, who lost her wicket to Aarya Aryal, score 23 and Ashmita Thapa got 19 not out.

Amrita Kasai and Samana Pun grabbed 3 wickets each to bowl out Pokhara for 43 in 13.1 overs. Only Aarati Bidari got double-digit scoring 14. Anu KC and Kamala BC took a wicket each to support Amrita (3 for 5 in 2.1 overs) and Samana (3 for 11 in 3 overs).

At IOE Ground, Birgunj scored 100 for 7 in 20 overs – thanks to 33 not out by player of the match Rachana Aryal and 20 by Manisha Chaulagain. Rubina Chhetri bowled the best for Biratnagar taking 3 wickets for 7 runs off 4 overs while Sabnam Rai got 2 for 21 in 4 overs.

Biratnagar only managed to score 71 in 16 overs and lost by 29 runs. Rubina was highest scorer with 12. For Birgunj, Puja Giri claimed 4 wickets for 22 runs and Pushpa Aryal got 2 wickets for 15 runs.

In the only match won by the team batting second, Janakpur defeated Baitadi by 8 wickets. Baitadi batted first scor-ing 54 in 13.4 overs with Manisha Godari (18) and Puja Bhatta (14) getting runs.

Anuradha Chaudhary bowled tight taking 3 wickets for 4 runs in 3 overs while Kritu Dahal got a couple of wicket.

Janakpur lost Usha Bhujel (2) and Shanti Chaudhary (1) cheaply but player of the match Anuradha (26 not out off 21 balls) and Kabita Gautam (21 not out of 14 balls) took Janakpur to the target in 7.5 overs. Sonu Khadka and Anjali Chand each took a wicket.

On Thursday, Kathmandu meets Janakpur, Nepalgunj meets Bhairahawa at IOE Ground while Biratnagar plays Baitadi and Pokhara locks horns with Birgunj at the TU Ground.

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The three Asian nations are placed together in Group A alongside Netherslands, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Bermuda and Denmark.
Group B of the Global Qualifiers consists of Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, Namibia, Uganda, Oman, Italy and USA. The top two teams from the tournament will qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Sri Lanka in September, 2012.

Nepal will play its first match against Hong Kong at GCA2 Academy Oval Ground on March 13. Then it will meet Denmark (March 14, Dubai Sports City Stadium), PNG (March 15, Sharjah Cricket Stadium), Afghanistan (March 16, Sharjah Cricket Stadium), Bermuda (March 18, Sheikh Zayed Stadium), Nethersland (March 19, GCA1 Academy Oval) and Canada (March 20, Sharjah Cricket Stadium) during the league round.

After league round, the playoffs will be held.

Groupings

Group A: Afghanistan, Nethersland, Canada, PNG, Hong Kong, Bermuda, Denmark, Nepal
Group B: Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, Namibia, Uganda, Oman, Ital and USA

Nepal’s fixture

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Generally, the third place play-off is a drab affair, and is taken as the competition to find who is worse of the two losing semi-finalists. But it could have been an opportunity for Nepali team to stamp some authority.

However, the hosts failed to do that. This was also the first match that Roy Dias was fielding a side against the team he had coached earlier. Not many have forgotten that Dias was Nepal coach and has been out of the country for only a year, after staying with the side for 9 years.

Oman Team. Photo by PhotoEverest.com

The match was reduced to a 15-over-a-side affair, due to haze and dew on the ground. Sent to field, Nepali bowlers were not able to restrict the Oman batsmen initially, giving away 11 runs in the first over itself.

First seven overs produced 50 runs and brought down 2 overs. Oman appeared surging to a big score, but some senseless batting and Mehboob Aalam made sure the score remained at 101 for 8.

Interestingly, only two batsmen from Oman had a strike rate of over 100. Opener Zeeshan Siddiqui, with 22 off 12, and Awal Khan, with 18 off 11, toyed with Nepali bowling during their brief stay at the crease. Aalam finished with 4 wickets in his 3 overs.

Nepali side changed its batting line up, sending Pradip Airee with Subhash Khakurel to open the innings, with the hope to quicken run rate at the top of the order. But by the time both the openers were back, exactly halfway through the innings, the score read 46.

Things went wrong as Aalam was out the next ball. Amazingly, the middle order did not try to force and push the run rate and left too many runs for last few overs.

Little short! Nepali batting effort was not enough as Nepal lost to Oman by 2 runs. Photo by PhotoEverest.com

Wickets at regular intervals meant that the runs dried up and the hosts fell short of target by 2 runs.

For Oman, Amir Khaleem bowled miserly and gave away 11 runs in his 3 overs and took the wickets of Subhash Khakurel, Mehboob Aalam and Paras Khadka. Airee opened the batting and scored 20 runs off 22, which remained the highest of the match.

It was a heart wrenching defeat for the hosts in front of the home crowd, who still appeared in a couple of thousands for their team.

Coach Pubudu Dassanayake appeared sad following the match and admitted that the match changed its course after the dismissal of Paras Khadka and Prithu Baskota.

He said that the team would need ‘some changes’ but did not elaborate on any ‘specific area’.

The tournament has shown the weaknesses of the team in the shortest format of the game. Most of it has been the lack of application.

Oman manager kisses Man of the Match after the victory over Nepal in the 3rd Place Playoff of ACC T20 Cup. Photo by PhotoEverest.com

The team’s misery was apparent as the captain of the side, Paras Khadka, did not even show up at the presentation ceremony after the match. He probably knew, it was not going to be his teammate. And, the award went to Aamir Kaleem.

On the sidelines, the former coach, Roy Dias, was all smiles for his new team.

Brief Scorecard: Oman 101 for 8 in 16 overs (Z Siddiqui 22, J Singh 20, A Khan 18, M Alam 4/22) lost to Nepal 99 for 9 in 16 overs (P Airee 20, S Khakurel 19, P Baskota 14, A Kaleem 3/11, H Mehta 2/16, A Ali 2/18) by 2 runs. MoM: Aamir Kaleem (Oman)

Cricket Nepal (cricket.com.np) provided live scores and commentary for the match. Click ‘Replay’ below to read the live commentaries.

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However, Hong Kong chased 131-run target in 14.5 overs and qualified for the semifinals as well as the Twenty20 World Cup Qualifiers.

Nepal still has a fair chance to qualify. It will reach the last four if Saudi Arabia beat the UAE or make the match a close-contest. To qualify, the UAE has to win the match by around 65 to 75 runs or chase the target within 11 to 12 overs.

In the points table, Hong Kong leads with six points, equal to Nepal, but with the advantage of better net run rate over Nepal. Nepal is second with six points. The UAE has four points and a match in hand.

Kuwait has two points and Saudi Arabia is at the bottom without any win.

ACC Twenty20 Cup / Group B Points Table
(as of December 7, 2011)

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Saudi Arabia is the lowest profile team among the 10 participants as they arrived in Kathmandu without their chief coach and a coach. Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Development Officer Ikbal Sikander took the charge of Saudi Arabia for this tournament recently and said that none of the team could be taken lightly in the T-20 format of the cricket.

“Any team taken as underdog has to lose nothing and it has no pressure. Pressure always comes to favorites,” said Sikander, who was a member of the World Cup winning Pakistan team. “Prediction often fails in T20 format. One over could be enough to change the course of the game anytime,” he added.

As Afghanistan has already qualified to the ICC World T20, with a One-Day status, semifinalists of the ACC T20 will have maximum chance of qualification to the ICC event.

UAE is also a tough contender, having defeated Afghanistan in Inter Continental Four-Day Tournament two months ago and pulled off victory against the same opponent in two ODIs. The UAE is slated in the group B of the tournament alongside Nepal.

However, the UAE coach Kabir Khan targets entering semifinal and securing qualification only. “I consider this tournament tougher than ICC World T20 Qualifiers. Playing in Nepal is always difficult. The slow wickets here help spinners more and it will be a challenge for our team, which had played on good wickets earlier,” said Khan, who was Afghanistan coach once. “Thus, we are targeting semifinal and qualification only, for now,” he added.

“You don’t get time to correct mistakes in T20. One mistake, you are gone. If you play 4-5 good shots, you can change the course of the game,” said Khan.

He said that UAE has picked players who can adapt to Nepali environment and T20 style, instead of selecting them on the basis of their past performance. “We have brought cricketers, who know T20 format well, selecting them from around 200 clubs,” claimed Khan.

If Khan is to be believed, Nepal – despite not-so-good performance in T20 format – is a tough opponent. “Nepalis a very good team within ACC and they will have home environment and crowd advantage this time,” said Khan.

Nepal, who could not cross group stage in the first two editions of the tournament, is expecting semifinal berth and qualification to the ICC World T20 Qualifiers.

Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake said that his team has found the rhythm in every department of the game. “We are waiting for the first match against Hong Kong,” said Dassanayake, who knows less about Hong Kong.

Hong Kong, who recently played practice matches against Sri Lanka U-23 and Board XI, is set to give tough fight to the host team on Saturday.

As Dassanayake is still not sure about the pitch behavior, he is yet to decide the XI for the first match. “I’ve already picked 12 players but I’ll decide the playing set in the last moment after the pitch inspection on Saturday morning,” said Dassanayake. “If dew remains on the pitch, we’ll go with three pacers otherwise we’ll add spinner in the team,” he added.

Former coach of Nepal and the current coach of Oman, Roy Dias, said that Oman has handed him responsibility, because of his knowledge about Nepal’s environment. “I was a coach here for almost a decade. Probably,Omansigned me as I understandNepal’s environment well,” said Dias to ICC website.

Dias also has set his target to reach semifinal and to qualify for the ICC World T20 Qualifiers.

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“We are the champions and we´ll defend the title,” said a confident Ahmadzai.

Even though Nepal is hosting the ACC Twenty20 in Kathmandu from December 3 to 11, Afghanistan is the pre-tournament favorite.

Nepal and Afghanistan were at the same level till only three years ago. Both teams had competed in the ICC World Cricket League Division-5 in 2008. However, Afghanistan progressed after defeating Nepal by 37 runs in the semifinal of the tournament in Jersey.

Afghanistan now has One-Day status in world cricket but Nepal is still fighting in Division-4.

“Nepal team is good among the associate nations of ICC (International Cricket Council). I don´t know how they lagged behind. They should have been either in Division 2 or 1,” said Ahmadzai.

However, Ahmadzai knows well how Afghanistan leaped forward, gained One-Day status and played the Twenty20 World Cup. “We have team unity as these boys are playing together for almost a decade and they go for win every time,” said Ahmadzai.

Afghanistan team manager Shafiq Asmat Stanikjai clarified how Afghanistan achieved success in cricket. “We have good support from the government, we have a very good sponsorship deal with Etisalat, leading telecom in Afghanistan, and we are receiving grants from ICC,” said Stanikjai. “Credit goes to the boys. They wanted to win every single game. They also saw a bright future in cricket,” he added.

Binod Das, senior bowler and former captain of Nepali national team, said that Nepali team was stagnant by 2008 while Afghanistan was improving. “We had the same standard but they got one after another chance to play tough and better teams to gain confidence,” said Das.

Das also blamed the domestic format for Nepal´s failure. “They got opportunity to play good tournaments continuously but we lacked competitive matches,” said Das.

Nepal team coach Pubudu Dassanayake opined that lack of match exposure is a major problem for the associate nations. “Associate nations are not in the position to develop players on their own,” said Dassanayake. “So far as I know, Afghan players are playing elsewhere in places like Pakistan. Canada is playing domestic cricket in West Indies and Irish and Scottish players play in England. Sri Lanka used to play in Tamil Nadu in its earlier days in cricket. We also need similar support from neighbors like India,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nepali captain Paras Khadka expressed his determination to make Nepal catch up with Afghanistan. “They got important win in the right time during the Division-5 tournament in 2008. They were lucky in the tournament as they progressed despite losing a match in the group stage. But they improved after that tournament,” said Khadka.

“However, we have the capability to reach Division-2 or 1. We are still not that far from Afghanistan,” he added.

Khadka´s confidence is not baseless, as Afghanistan still looks at Nepal as the toughest opponent. “We take Nepal as a tough opponent in the tournament. They are really a good team,” said Afghanistan manager Stanikjai.

Afghanistan takes ACC T20 as practice tournament

Afghanistan coach Dawlat Ahmadzai said that his team is taking the ACC Twenty20 as a good practice tournament for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE in March 2012.

Afghanistan has already booked its berth in the qualifiers as a team of Division-1 and One-Day status.

“We are preparing for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers, the ACC Twenty20 would be a good practice tournament for us,” said Ahmadzai. However, he said that they are confident about defending the ACC Twenty20 title.

“We are well prepared for the tournament but the UAE, Nepal and Malaysia could be tough opponents,” said Ahmadzai.

Afghanistan and other top three teams of the ACC Twenty20 will secure berths in the qualifiers.

´Pitch ready´

Curator of the TU Cricket Ground, Ajay Pandey, said that four pitches are ready for the ACC Twenty20 Cup.

The TU Ground will host the opener as well as the semifinal and final matches of the tournament.

“I´ve prepared center wicket for the final and opening matches,” said Pandey. “I´ve tried to provide flat wicket as the beauty of T20 tournament lies in the runs scored,” he added.

The TU Ground is considered as a low-scoring and spin-friendly wicket but Pandey is hopeful that teams will be able to score runs this time around.

“Run-scoring depends on the batting. A team can chase around 160 runs on this ground,” said Pandey.

According to Pandey, the center wicket has a bit more grass and can help fast bowlers. “As we are preparing center wicket for the final, we should leave the grass for maintaining moisture,” said Pandey.

(With inputs from Anil Ghimire; as published in Republica)

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