Nepal bowlers must come out firing on all cylinders

The men‘s national cricket team of Nepal got off to a losing start in the ICC World Cup Qualifier  in Harare,Zimbabwe.

Head  coach Monty Desai boys needed a dream start against hosts Zimbabwe to gain an early foothold in the competition,but it didn’t  materialize.

It just  wasn’t their day. Instead they were squarely beaten by the home team much to the delight of the boisterous partisan supporters.

In an exhibition of solid,confident and disciplined batting,Zimbabwe comprehensively defeated Nepal by eight wickets in 44.1 overs.

The highly experienced  duo skipper Craig Ervine(121) and Sean Williams(102)  scored  brilliant  unbeaten centuries which sealed the victory for their team.

Obviously, Nepal lacked the  firepower in the bowling department. Despite the presence of three pacers, as it turned out they were a pacer short  for the bouncy pitch.

The bowling attack was further crippled in the absence of  Sompal Kami  who left the field  after suffering finger injury while fielding .

At the time he was midway through his fifth over which he did not complete.He was the pick of  the bowlers with a wicket in his kitty.

Let us hope that the injury is not serious and  he is in a position to play in upcoming matches.

With pacers in short supply, it is a matter of concern for the team management. Also it means additional workload for speedsters Karan KC and youngster Gulsan Jha.

Talented Jha put in a decent performance and claimed a wicket.If he progresses at this rate he has great prospects.

Even a  spin bowler of Sandeep Lamichhane caliber was of little help to the team.He was far from his best and got nothing from the pitch.

He went wicketless in his ten over spell giving away 77 runs.This is one of  the poorest performances of his career. I am confident that  he will bounce back with winning performances which we are so used to seeing.

It is imperative that the bowlers get their act together, refocus,regain confidence and composure and come out  firing on all cylinders.Their contribution will be crucial and key in the team’s  comeback effort. 

The setback  can be looked through a positive lens.The  brilliant batting was  the silver lining in defeat. 

The batters were  in their own element and batted sensibly,courageously  and  confidently against the  opponent’s well coordinated pace attack. They posted a challenging total of 290 for 8 in the allocated 50 overs.

A record breaking 171 run partnership for the opening wicket between  Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh  was the highlight of Nepal’s innings.

The openers  got on top of bowlers and dominated the proceedings with  an array of exciting and delightful shots.

Bhurtel was one run away from his well deserved century but  became  a victim of nervous 90s falling for 99.

Three runs later Sheikh  followed him with a well made 66.Kushal Malla scored a useful 41 off 42 balls.

Combining  both teams innings,the  favorable batting  pitch produced close to six hundred runs. 

It is a must for top order  batters to  be consistent with the bat and continue  posting challenging totals for opponents.To add, the tailenders have to make handy  contribution to boost the total.

Coach Monty  Desai must consider  including experienced batter former skipper Gyanendra Malla  in the playing eleven to soldify the batting order.

Nepal takes on the United States  next.They have to put in a  solid winning performance  in order to put themselves back in the competition and build momentum going forward. 

Every fixture from here on is vital for Nepal to keep their qualifying  hopes alive.They  cannot afford another hiccup, and a defeat is most likely to put an end to their campaign.