CHITTAGONG, MAR 17 - Nepal made a dream debut at the ICC World Twenty20 with an emphatic 80-run win over Hong Kong in a preliminary round match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Sunday.
Nepal were indebted to the influential skipper Paras Khadka and his deputy Gyanendra Malla to post a fighting 149-8 total after Hong Kong invited them to bat first. The good work of the experienced batting duo was excellently complimented by left-arm spinners Shakti Gauchan and Basanta Regmi to bowl out the opposition for just 69 runs in 17 overs.
Nepal were on the spot of bother after losing both the openers at score of 36. But that brought together Khadka and Malla in the middle. Spurred on by a group of Nepal i fans, chanting and waving their ‘4’ and ‘6’ placards with considerable vigour the two put on a solid 80-run stand—a new third-wicket record for the team—in just over 11 overs.
“Paras Khadka, chhaka padka [Paras Khadka, hit a six],” implored the Nepal support and this was the only facet of their evening in which they were to be disappointed. The skipper hit four fours off 37 balls for his 41, while Malla who struck four fours and a six off 41 deliveries fell two short of a half century. Khadka then returned to take a wicket in the very first ball of the Hong Kong innings before Som Pal Kami made it 9-2 in the second over. But it was Gauchan and Regmi who turned the match for Nepal as Hong Kong lost four wickets at the score of 58 to be 58-7 by the 12th over. Gauchan, who was named man-of-the-match, returned with figures of 3-9 and Regmi took 3-14.
Khadka said the win augurs well for the future. “There is good spirit in the team and the boys are really hungry to do well,” he added. “We want to play good cricket and continue that way in other matches too. We have to start all over again in our next game against Bangladesh and take the positives from this game.”
Nepal play their next match against Bangladesh on Tuesday before taking on Afghanistan two days later. One team from this group will join India, Pakistan, Australia and the West Indies in Group 2 of the Super 10 stage.
Source : www.ekantipur.com
No comments:
Post a Comment