Airee and Jha lift Nepal to first win against Scotland in World Cup

At long last, Nepal notched up its first victory at the expense of  Scotland in the men’s ICC Twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament in  Mumbai,India.

They put on an impressive and incredible performance to get the better of Scotland by seven wickets.

The win ended the losing streak and finally sent their army of supporters who had packed the Wankhede stadium for every match of Nepal into a celebratory frenzy.

After winning the toss,Nepal opted to field first. The decision seemed to have backfired as  the bowlers struggled to contain the Scottish openers  from  scoring runs with ease.The first wicket  partnership  yielded 80 runs.

At 132 for 2 in 15.2 overs,Scotland was well positioned to amass a challenging total for the opposition.

The bowlers, however, bounced back with a good spell of  bowling  in the last five overs,claiming  quick  wickets, checking the run flow and  ultimately restricting them  to  170 runs,which was a competitive total for Nepal.

Speedster Sompal Kami led the charge by taking  3 wickets for 25 runs,while Nandan Yadav took 2 wickets for 34 runs.

Given Nepal’s  lackluster batting  performance in the last two matches, they faced  quite a challenge  in the run chase  to  surpass the total of 170  for victory.

The  top order batters under pressure and scrutiny had to come up with big knocks to deliver the result. 

Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh got off to  a  promising and solid start. Batting confidently and aggressively they laid the much needed foundation,sharing 74 runs for the first wicket,which significantly helped to pave the way for victory.

After  going through a batting slump in the last  two matches,Bhurtel regained his form. He batted explosively to score 43 runs with the help of four 6s and one four. Likewise, Sheikh scored 33 runs consisting of two towering 6s.  

Although Nepal lost two quick wickets, the all -rounder duo  Dipendra Singh  Airee and Gulshan Jha  took control of the proceedings  and rescued  the team from   a third straight defeat.They shared a 73 runs partnership for the fourth wicket.

They  batted brilliantly, aggressively and timed their shots to perfection in the last seven overs, ensuring  a thrilling and well deserved victory in the final  over with four balls to spare, much to the relief and joy of their fans and supporters.

Undoubtedly, player of the match Airee was the central figure in the team’s victory. He came into the match,following  his brilliant knock of 58 runs against the West Indies.

He continued with his good form and played a match winning innings  at a critical juncture  when it mattered most.

His unbeaten swashbuckling knock of 50 runs came off  just 23 balls,which included four 4s and three 6s.

Upcoming and hard hitting Jha  made a big impact on the game as well. He justified  his move in the batting order  ahead of experienced and established batters Aarif Sheikh,Sundeep Jora and Lokesh Bam.

His knock of 24 not out was decisive when  he smashed  a six  in the 18th over and a four in the 19th over to  guarantee his side victory.

The success over Scotland is Nepal’s third  win in the Twenty20 World Cup since their maiden  appearance in the 2014 World Cup  held in Bangladesh.

Without a shred of doubt,Nepal has the potential to become a powerhouse in world cricket.The talent pool in the country is enormous and growing by the day.They have been making steady progress over the ages despite challenges on the domestic front.

The future of Nepal cricket largely depends on  Cricket Association of Nepal’s governance,management  and the people in charge. 

The association should be totally free of  petty politics,nepotism,favoritism, corruption, factionalism,and unprofessional executives who have little knowledge of cricket.