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Nepal has qualified for the ACC Championship after a resounding seven-wicket win on Monday over Hong Kong in its penultimate match of the ACC Premier League at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nepal’s third win in four matches put it level on six points with leader Afghanistan and third-placed Oman, with only net run rate separating the three teams. Afghanistan beat Oman by five wickets at the Kinrara Academy Oval on Monday to go top and end the latter’s winning spree in the tournament, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) climbed one spot to fourth with a six-wicket victory over Malaysia in another match. The result ensured Afghanistan, Nepal and Oman’s qualification for the ACC Championship, the first… Read More

Lifted by Sompal Kami’s first five wicket haul and Mehaboob Alam’s half century, Nepal defeated Malaysia by five wickets in the ACC Premier League on Friday at the Bayuemas Cricket Stadium, Malaysia. This was second win for Nepal in as many matches at the tournament. Nepal had defeated ODI nation United Arab Emirates on Thursday. Two wins has consolidated Nepal’s chances of qualifying for the ACC Championship—the first two day championship to be organized by Asian Cricket Council in December—where top four teams from the current tournament will be selected. Sompal restricted Malaysia from posting a good total by picking up three early wickets. He came back and added two more later. The hosts were restricted to 149 run in… Read More

National Cricket team captain Paras Khadka has been nominated in the Popular Player of the Year category of the Pulsar Sports Award for the consecutive second year along with footballer Bimal Gharti Magar, volleyball player Saraswati Chaudhary, swimmer Sofia Shah and athlete Yam Sajan Sunwar. Nepal Sports Journalist Forum (NSJF), the organizer of the annual award, unveiled the nominations of the category on Thursday amidst a press conference. According to Prakash Timalsina, the coordinator of the player’s selection committee and secretary of NSJF, the players were selected on the basis of their performance, achievement and popularity in the mass level during the year 2070 BS.  The winner among them will be declared on June 1 on the basis of number of… Read More

Nepal got off to a flying start in the ACC Premier League, registering 4-wicket win over the ODI nation United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, at the Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sompal Kami and Mehboob Alam came good with the ball, as opener Subash Khakurel played a responsible knock in Nepal’s comfortable victory, which came with 10 overs to spare. Mehboob, who made his comeback in the national team and young sensation Sompal bagged three wickets each. Subash cracked 71 runs off 91 balls. Winning the toss, Nepal invited UAE to bat and bowled it out for 191 runs in 48.1 overs. In reply, Nepal made 195 in 39.5 overs losing six wickets. It was the second… Read More

When Team Nepal takes on UAE in its first match of ACC Premier League on Thursday at Kuala Lumpur, the team is likely to be less motivated than it was while playing its first World Cup earlier this year. It’s not because the stature of tournament is smaller. But the reason is highhandedness shown by the country’s cricket governing body, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), to its head coach, Pubudu Dassanayake. And Dassanayake is a person Nepali cricketers revere, almost! CAN extended Dassanayake’s coaching contract by three months, after promising extension for a year. Both CAN and Dassnayake had announced it at March-end. It goes without saying that Nepali cricket has prospered after arrival of Dassanayake as a coach. Not… Read More

Riding high on the euphoria of Nepal’s first ever appearance at the World Cup, the Cricket Associa-tion of Nepal (CAN), on March 25, offered coach Pubudu Dassanayake a one-year contract. CAN had held out till the very end, only promising to renew the contract at the last moment. Now that the excitement has died down, in a striking betrayal on Tuesday, CAN handed Dassanayake a paltry three-month contract, prompting protests from the national cricket team, who have long been ardent supporters of their Sri Lankan coach. Dassanayake himself appeared dejected, having only been informed of the duplicity hours before departing for the ACC Premier League in Malaysia. Coach Dassanayake has been a beloved fixture of Nepali cricket ever since he… Read More

In a move that may appear humiliating to anyone who has followed Nepali cricket in recent months, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has extended Team Nepal’s head coach Pubudu Dassanayake’s contract by just three months, a month after announcing that his coaching job would be extended by a year. On March 25, CAN had announced that Dassanayake would remain with Nepali cricket team for another year. The cricket governing body handed him three-month contract extension just ahead of the team’s departure to Malaysia, where Nepal plays in the ACC Premier League. CAN’s work execution committee had unanimously decided to extend Dassanayake’s one-year extension six days before his previous contract expired. Making public the decision of the meeting then, CAN President… Read More

Less than a month after impressive performance at the World T20 Cup, Nepali cricketers are at odds with the cricket governing body of Nepal, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). In a show of displeasure with the Association, the national cricket players have decided to walk out of the one day national tournament on Thursday. The cricketers have blamed CAN of overlooking their demands. Captain of National Cricket Team, Paras Khadka , announced that the national players have decided to stay away from the tournament.  At a press conference organized in the capital’s Hotel Crown Plaza, the players also complained over the change of venue for the ongoing Pespi Standard Chartered one day national cricket tournament from Kathmandu to Pokhara. The tournament… Read More

It was a clash of worldviews on display at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on March 20 and the gritty, never-say-die attitude of Nepal trumped the uber-confident boom or bust approach of Afghanistan. The result didn’t mean much in terms of the ICC World Twenty20 2014, for Bangladesh progressed to the Super 10 despite an embarrassing 2-wicket thrashing from hands of Hong Kong. But in the larger scheme of things, the hard-earned nine-run win meant that Nepal showed the world what rapid strides it had made in the game in a short period of time. When Afghanistan won the toss and put Nepal in, there were signs that Mohammad Nabi believed he could bully the opposition a touch. Shapoor Zadran,… Read More

Arch rivals Nepal and Afghanistan will be looking to pull out all stops when they face each other on Thursday in their last group stage match of the ICC World T20 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Both the sides have slim chances of progressing to the next round. Even a win on Thursday will not be sufficient for either of the teams to guarantee their place in the Super 10 round. Their fate also hinges on the outcome of the fixture between Bangladesh and Hong Kong. But victory over Afghanistan would be a big achievement for Nepal, which has never defeated the Afghans since 2004. Nepal’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake hinted that his side’s challenge for the… Read More

Test nation Bangladesh proved too mighty as the host defeated Nepal by eight wickets with 27 balls remaining. At Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, Nepal put up matured batting performance against the host to reach 126/5. Nepal lost opener Subash Khakurel at eight runs off 13 balls while his opening partner Sagar Pun scored 12 runs off 19 balls. Gyanendra Malla started beautifully but Al-Amin Hossain trapped him LBW while he was on 13 runs off six balls. Skipper Paras Khadka and Sharad Vesawkar put up the 85-run fourth wicket partnership, the highest partnership for Nepal in T20s. Khadka was bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza while attempting a scoop. Khadka blasted 41 runs off 35 balls including four boundaries. Vesawkar scored… Read More

Nepal awaits its biggest challenge in the group stage of ICC World Twenty20, playing against host Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Tuesday. Bangladesh is the only Test playing nation of group A. This is Nepal’s first encounter against the Test playing team. Both the sides started their campaign on Saturday with resounding victories. Nepal overcame Hong Kong by 80 runs and Bangladesh edged past Afghanistan by nine wickets. A victory to either of the team will strengthen their bid to move to the next round. Playing against a test playing side, Nepal is an underdog. But Nepal’s skipper Paras Khadka does not seem much bothered about the result while Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim is no… Read More

Nepal began its ICC World T20 campaign in a fairytale mode with a resounding 80-run win over Hong Kong, in the event that began on Sunday, at the  Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong. Good batting, followed by brilliant bowling display from the Nepali team avenged the 10-wicket defeat suffered during the World Cup Qualifiers in January in New Zealand. Put in to bat first, after losing the toss, Nepal posted a competitive target of 150 runs and bowled out Hong Kong for 69 runs with three overs to spare. Vice captain Gyanendra Malla and captain Paras Khadka showed sparks with the bat and later Paras took the key wicket of Hong Kong opener Irfan Ahmed in the very first ball… Read More

I arrived this morning at Chittagong, the Port City of Bangladesh to watch and Cover ICC World T20. Nepal qualified for the highest level of competitive cricket after defeating Hong Kong in the World T20 Qualifiers played in November, 2013. The win itself was miraculous, as Nepal beat Hong Kong in a thrilling match that went up to the last ball. Chittagong, which is around 250 kilometers east from capital city Dhaka, is comparatively calm, less crowded than the Bangladeshi capital. After escaping from infamous traffic jam of Dhaka, my focus turned to cricket. Nepal has to play against Hong Kong in the opening group match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. Stage is all set for the both… Read More

Nepal suffered another defeat in its second and final warm up match of the ICC World T20 at the Fatullah Stadium, in Fatullah, Dhaka. UAE defeated Nepal by 6 wickets, chasing a target of 96. Defending a smallish target, Nepali bowlers began well, as Amjad Ali was trapped leg before in the very first over off Paras Khadka. UAE lost its second wicket with score at 14 runs and third at 34. But for UAE, the overhaul of the target was always going to be one good partnership away. And that partnership came in when Swapnil Patil (40) came in after the fall of Khurram Khan (15). He forged a 48-run partnership for the 4th wicket in 8.4 overs with… Read More

Nepal began its Bangladesh campaign with a  five-wicket defeat at the hands of topmost associate team Ireland in its first official warm up match of the ICC World T20 at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium in Fatullah, Dhaka on Wednesday. Nepal conceded 18 runs in the 18th over, as Ireland batsman Gary Wilson hit two sixes off spinner Shakti Gauchan to give Irish team the victory.  Before that, Nepal remained competitive, despite scoring 137 in its innings. “I am satisfied with the result and the team’s overall performance,” Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake said. “We gave away many runs in the last two overs.” Put to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal posted 137 runs for seven. Ireland achieved the target… Read More

Cricket Association of Nepal has finalized a 30-member preliminary squad, including veteran off-spinner Sanjam Regmi, another spinner Rahul BK, fast bowlers Amrit Bhattarai and Chandra Saud, for the upcoming ICC World T20. The biggest tournament of T20 format will begin in Bangladesh on March 16. Nepal qualified for the mega event after finishing third in the ICC World T20 qualifiers held in the UAE in November. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had set the deadline of January 16 for the registration of the preliminary squad. Cricket Nepal learnt that it had sent the list to the world cricket governing body ahead of the deadline. The players were selected on the recommendation of coach Pubudu Dassanayake while he was in New… Read More

Nepal wrapped up its ICC World Cup Qualifiers campaign with a consolation win on Tuesday thumping Uganda by 160 runs in the ninth place playoff played at the Bay Oval 2 in New Zealand. Nepal elected to bat first and scored 240 runs losing all the wickets with two balls to spare and bowled out Uganda for 80 runs in 36.3 overs. The first victory in the last match of the Qualifiers campaign put a brake on Nepal’s five match losing streak in the tournament. Earlier, Nepal had lost all four matches of the group stage against UAE, Scotland, Hong Kong and Canada and finished at the rock bottom of five team group. Similarly, Nepal had gone down by seven… Read More

Nepal´s disastrous run at the ICC World Cup Qualifiers has continued. Team Nepal faced its fifth successive defeat on Sunday, going down against The Netherlands by seven wickets in the in the seventh place playoff match held at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui in New Zealand. Nepal was put in to bat first, and it posted a meager 171 for 9. The Dutch team chased down the target with more than 18 overs and 7 wickets to spare. Nepal lost its first wicket very cheaply, as has been the norm in the tournament, today as well, with the score at 16 in the 7th over. That began a spate of wicket falls, and half the side was back in the… Read More

Region No 7 (Janakpur) recovered from a slow start to record its first victory in the Women’s National Cricket Tournament after middle-order batswomen Kabita Gautam and Saraswati Chaudhary both scored half-centuries to defeat Region No 8 (Pokhara) by 147 runs victory at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Sunday. Region No 1 (Biratnagar) also opened its account defeating Region No 6 (Baitadi) by six wickets in another Group A encounter at the Army ground in Bhaktapur. Meanwhile, Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) beat Region No 9 (Kanchanpur) by 74 runs in a Group B meeting at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground for its second win in three matches. The win took Janakpur to third in the Group A standings, level on… Read More

Two centuries were witnessed in a single match of the Women’s National Cricket Tournament on Saturday, a day after Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) captain Nary Thapa scored the first century in the history of Nepali women’s cricket. Rekha Rawal and Anjali Chand of Region No 6 (Baitadi) scored unbeaten centuries against Region No 8 (Pokhara) at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur. Rawal smashed unbeaten 131 runs off 98 balls including 19 boundaries. Rawal reached the magical three digits figure in 74 balls. Meanwhile, Chand clobbered unbeaten 111 runs off 95 balls including 15 boundaries. Chand reached the 100-mark off 90 balls. As Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) used to conduct women’s cricket matches of only 25 overs in the past,… Read More

Scoring a century in a cricket match is itself a milestone for the batter. As women’s cricket started in Nepal only in 2005, century was a distant dream for Nepali woman cricketers till Friday. However, Nary Thapa, who is one of the first generation woman-cricketers in the country, achieved the milestone on Friday with style. Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) captain Thapa scored an unbeaten century against Region No 3 (Kathmandu) on Friday at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur in the ongoing Women’s National Cricket Tournament. Thapa garnered 121 runs off 128 balls for the maiden century of Nepali women’s cricket. She struck 21 boundaries in the process. Thapa, who reached half-century mark off 52 balls, reached the magical three-digit figure… Read More

Region No 2 (Birgunj) edged past Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by seven wickets on Friday to win the title of School Level National T20 Cricket Tournament in Jaleshwar, Mahottari.  Birgunj elected to field first and bundled out Biratnagar for only 89 runs in 19.1 overs. Love Kamat top scored for Biratnagar with 27 runs while Arman Ansari and Samsad Ansari claimed three wickets each for Birgunj. Birgunj successfully chased the small total in 18 overs losing only three wickets. Aasif Shekh clobbered unbeaten 50 runs of 45 balls to make the victory look easier. Niraj Mukhiya claimed two wickets for Biratnagar. The winning team Birgunj received Rs 25,000 while Biratnagar bagged Rs 15,000. Shekh was declared player-of-the-final. Kundan Singh of… Read More

Golden Gate International College clinched the title of Inter College FSU Council Cup National Cricket Tournament. Golden Gate thrashed Prithvi Narayan (PN) Campus by nine wickets in the final played at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground on Friday. PN elected to bat and put up 106 runs in allotted 20 overs losing five wickets. Anil Gurung scored 52 runs off 58 balls for PN. Ajendra Chantyal garnered 19 runs off 30 balls while rest of the other batsmen failed to reach double-digit scores. In reply, Golden Gate reached 109/1 in just 9.3 overs. Captain Paresh Lohani clobbered unbeaten 43 runs off 28 balls while Naresh Budhayer hit 38 runs off 22 balls. Sanjay Shrestha contributed 11 runs off seven balls for… Read More