Dismal batting against Namibia cost Nepal the match

The men’s national cricket team of Nepal hit another disappointing bump in the road in the ongoing ICC Cricket World  Cup League 2 in Scotland Monday.

In a surprise outcome,Namibia turned the tables on Nepal  by 40 runs, much to Nepali fans' chagrin.

The winners bounced back after losing to Scotland  in the first match.It was a well deserved victory for the Namibians.They performed effectively as a unit which ultimately was key to the success.

After winning the toss,Namibia elected to bat first and scored  a fighting 220 runs in 47.3 overs.Although Nepal’s  seven pronged bowling attack spearheaded  by  skipper Sandeep Lamichane performed reasonably well, however, they failed to make the critical breakthrough  with the opposition reeling at 144 for 6 for the second straight match. 

The seventh wicket partnership yielded 50 important runs for Namibia which proved crucial and handy  at the end of the day.

Leg spinner Lamichhane was in his own element picking up four wickets,while Sompal Kami scalped 2 wickets.Speedster Karan KC has been far from his best since the Canadian tour.He only  bowled  five overs for a wicket.

In reply,Nepal once again paid  a heavy price for inconsistent  and poor quality batting for the umpteenth time. Middle order batsman  Aarif Sheikh was the only one who stood out with the bat.

He scored a hard-earned 50 and remained not out.Eventually he ran out of partners as the innings folded up in 46.5 overs.

Dev Khanal scored 34 runs but was unable  to anchor the innings when it mattered most. Openers Kushal Bhurtel (27) and Aasif Sheikh(14) cautious start went in vain .They  went out cheaply,thus denying  the team a solid  foundation.

The departure of specialist batsman Rohit Paudel for a duck  made things go from bad to worse. All rounder Dipendra Singh Airee’s poor run of form with the bat continued  unabated following his dismissal for 4 runs.

The tailenders  managed to add a few runs before the innings ended with the total at 180, well short of the target.

At the moment batting is looking increasingly average, vulnerable and lacking depth.The top order  batters have been struggling mightily and not performing  to their potential.

I will reiterate  once again that they are clearly lacking batting temperament, right techniques,consistency, experience,maturity and confidence. 

The national selectors should have included experienced campaigners  in the likes of former skipper Gyanendra Malla  and Sharad Vesawkar to give stability to the batting.

I just wonder how much say skipper Lamachanne has in  team selection,strategy and  tactics. We  have not heard much from him about  the team’s  poor batting. I hope he is not just a captain by the title. He has to lead by example.

Apparently  if Nepal’s  wowful batting performance continues unchecked there will be no end  to their losing streak.