Batting disaster ends Nepal’s campaign in Zimbabwe

 

A disastrous batting  performance by Nepal against the Netherlands ended their campaign in the ICC World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

Nepal was haunted by batting failures yet again.They concluded  the tournament with 3 defeats  and one win, falling far short of expectations.

The deciding match, a toss-up between the two  sides, was expected to be a thriller.But it   proved anticlimactic as the  Netherlands crushed Nepal by 7  wickets at the end.

The win puts  the Netherlands in the Super Six,thus  keeping their hopes of  qualifying to the final round in India alive.

The decision to bowl first after winning the toss paid off for the winners.The bowlers were up to their task and succeeded in overwhelming  and pinning down the shaky batting order from top to  bottom. 

Pacer Logan van Beek  wrecked havoc with his express  short deliveries, making  important breakthroughs in critical stages of the game.

Taking advantage of Nepal’s batting vulnerabilities and bouncy pitch,he had batters to their knees.His bowling figure of  34/4 in 9.3 overs speaks for itself.

They never allowed the opponent to build partnerships.Whenever a partnership was in progress they managed to cut it short.

They cleaned up Nepal’s innings in the 44.3 over  for a paltry total of 167 runs, easing pressure on their batters.  

Even on a perfect  batting pitch Nepal’s fragile batting was gapingly exposed by the Netherlands. 

All along I had maintained that Nepal’s  success would be largely decided by their batting performance.They needed to work on their shortcomings and come out as better batters.

In a crunch game  against  the Netherlands,it called for  solid, determined and disciplined performance from the batting unit,but it did not materialize. 

Unable  to withstand pressure,the batting crumbled under the opponent’s onslaught without a fight. Skipper Rohit Paudel was the top scorer with 33 runs.

Had it not been a fighting  knock by the tail Sandeep Lamichhane (27)and Gulshan Jha (15),Nepal's total could have been so much worse.

Leg spinner Lamichhane put in a decent  all round performance,his best in the competition.Apart from scoring 27,he picked 3 wickets also.

The batters failed miserably,unable to deliver when  it mattered most.There are absolutely no excuses for  the  collective batting debacle.All I can say is,it was a very poor batting display.

They clearly lacked  the skill,application,  focus, big game match  temperament  and consistency. 

I don’t understand why Coach Monty Desai completely ignored experienced  batter and former skipper Gyanendra Malla for the entire tournament. Given the inconsistency  in the batting order, his inclusion  in the playing eleven could  have come in handy. 

Defending a modest total was never going to be easy for the bowlers. They had to be at top of their game and needed quick wickets to apply  pressure on batters. 

To make matters worse for Nepal,the Netherlands openers   Max O’ Dowd(90) and Vikram Singh (30) made sure that did not happen.

They dictated terms  and built a winning partnership of 90, coupled with 41 from Bas de Leede which eventually ensured a convincing and easy win for the team. They reached the target in just 27.1 overs.

Where did it all go wrong? Coach Monty Desai  has a  lot of soul- searching to  do after his team’s disappointing  and dismal performance. 

I am not an expert. As things stand, I can say that both batting and bowling leaves much to be desired. 

If things don’t change for the good in the short and long run,as fans we will have to deal with more frustration and disappointment.

Next  up   is the Asia Cup,a much bigger challenge than the ICC World Cup Qualifier in terms of opponents for  Nepal.

To put it bluntly ,If Team Nepal continues on the same path unchanged,they are destined for a bigger disaster in the Asia Cup.