Nepal takes important leap in World Cup League 2 standings

In the recently concluded Men’s ICC World Cup cricket  tournament League 2   tri-series hosted by the Cricket Association of Nepal in Tribhuvan University international cricket ground in Kirtipur,home fans had plenty to cheer and celebrate over their team’s impressive performance.

Playing against the top two opponents the  United States of America and Scotland in  the table standings,Nepal put in a dominant performance to win three out of four matches.

In both two- leg games,surprisingly Nepal prevailed over the United States in  a convincing fashion.

In a display of  solid, consistent,confident and aggressive collective effort, coupled with individual brilliance, the hosts made short work of the opposition who are currently top of the  group. 

Scotland prevented the  hosts from making a clean sweep by winning the first match, however, Nepal bounced back to win the second.

 

In the first  tri-series against the United Arab Emirates  and Oman, they not only lived up to expectations but churned out a dominating performance to win three out of the four matches.They conceded one match to Oman.

They had the momentum  going into the second tri-series against  the United States and Scotland. 

What mattered most was that they had to ride on the momentum, maintain their winning performance and perform consistently in order to win maximum points from the series. 

At the end of the day they did not let the opportunity to prove themselves and reach their  targeted goal go  begging by.  They  consistently performed at a high level and successfully delivered the results much to the delight and relief of partisan supporters.

In both series the home team was under pressure to  win every single game to pull themselves back into contention for the final round. Additionally, they had to make the most out of the home field advantage which they did.

With the conclusion of both series, out of the eight games Nepal won an impressive eight and lost two. They have taken an important leap in the table standings, keeping their qualification hopes alive.

At the start  of the series Nepal looked hungry for success and determined to turn the tide in its favor. They had to  play to their ability, rise to the occasion, combine a solid team  and individual  effort to prevail over the opponents.

It was heartening to see the team’s batting gradually coming of age. More importantly,  specialist batters have to maintain consistency and good form moving forward.

Speaking of  batters' performance against Scotland and United States, opener Kushal Bhurtel  was the  team’s sole centurion in the series. In an exhibition of aggressive,confident and scintillating batting he cracked 120 runs against the United States in the first game.

Debutant Ishan Pandey proved himself to be the newest upcoming batter on the block. He fully maximized the opportunity by scoring  84,55 and  20  runs not out in three games .

All rounder Dipendra Singh Airee continued with his good form with both bat and ball ( 2 half centuries and 4 plus wickets).  Skipper Rohit Paudel, Aasif Sheikh and Gulshan Jha  also hit  half centuries .

Likewise,in the bowling department  ace spinner  Sandeep Lamichhane was at the top of his game and was the highest taker. Lalit Rajbanshi also had a good series.

Going forward, it is critically important that they give continuity to  their consistent and winning performance in upcoming away series to consolidate their qualification chances to the final round of the competition.

There is plenty  of room for improvement. Therefore,the players must  self evaluate their performance, develop a positive mindset,  and learn from the mistakes. 

They have to work on it to improve their performance and become better players in order to push the team to new heights of success.