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Nepal register striking win over Bahrain




Captain Deependra Chand and Nurdhoj Sen showed excellence with bat as Nepal recored an incredible eight wickets win over Bahrain in the ongoing ACC U-16 Elite Cup here at the Kinrara Oval Ground of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Opting to bat first Bahrain were bowled out on 141 runs in 39.5 overs. In reply, Deependra and Nurdhoj guided Nepal safely to the target in 21.2 overs losing only two wickets.

 With the win against Bahrain Nepal continued their winning streak in the tournament. Both Nepal and the host Malaysia have bagged equal four points after clinching two straight victories and kept themselves inches closer to the semifinals of the tournament.

 Captain Deependra cracked a match-winning 75 runs that shaped Nepal’s triumph. Deependra’s 75 runs remained the second highest individual score from Nepal in ACC U-16 history. Earlier, Nishchal Pandey had scored an identical 75 runs in the first edition of the tournament held in Nepal in 2010. And, coincidently Nishchal’s 75 runs innings had also came against Bahrain.

Before the toss, Nepal suffered a loss as dependable middle-order batsman and the match winner against Kuwait Kushal Bhurtel was injured during the net session.  At the dying moment, Kushal’s name was withdrawn from the playing eleven and Rabin Kumar Gupta was assigned the job. Man of the match Deependra and his opening partner Nurdhoj did not upset Nepal when the team needed a huge win to maintain pressure on Malaysia.

Deependra struck 12 fours in his 69 balls stay, while Nurdhoj did not lose his cool and calm and added a handy 41 runs off 57 balls. Both openers shared a record first wicket partnership of 138 runs that cleared Nepal’s way to victory.  

Nurdhoj known for his fiery knocks was still, while Deependra shouldered attacking department from Nepal. Openers looked trouble free playing Bahraini bowlers, and Bahrain had to use their nine bowlers to get rid of them. Deependra and Nurdhoj gave no cheering moment for Bahrain fans as they were shut up with Nepal’s show.

Nepal lost their first wicket when the team were headed for a stunning 10 wickets victory. Lalaith Lal bowled out Nurdhoj in the 21st over. Soon, one ball later Deependra also followed Nurdhoj. Deependra ballooned a catch to Shan Mohammad as Akshay Bharadwaj claimed his single scalp.  Wicketkeeper and left-hander batsman Aadil Khan finished the match in style with a boundary off Lalaith Lal. Nepal collected highest 16 runs in the 18th over, while Nepal put first 50 runs on the board playing 6.3 overs and crossed three figure in 14.4 overs.

Earlier, Bahrain had a good start after electing to bat first. The opening pair Bharath Srinivasan (9) and Akshay Bharadwaj Krishna (26) added 31 runs for the first wicket. Aakash Bista gave the first breakthrough to Nepal when Bharath was caught by Jagdish Chand. Then, Akshya found a partner in Alvin Mathew Philip (23) as they put up 18 run stand for the second wicket. Akshya hit two boundaries and one six in his 50 balls knock. 

Laliath could not score any run, but supported Alvin in constructing a third wicket 11 runs stand. Bahrain batsmen looked miserable in front of Nepal’s spinner and medium-pacer attack. Bahrain were going good with 130-6 but lost the momentum as lost remaining four wickets adding only 10 runs. Aakash Bista did maximum damage to restrict Bahrain on an attainable total with his 3-14 figure including two maiden overs in 7.5 overs spell. Kali Charan Yadav and Rupesh Bastola snatched two wickets each for Nepal.

Earlier, Nepal had heartbreaking news when steady batsman Kushal Bhurtel broke his shoulder arm during the warm up,  just half an hour before the match was about to kick off. Kushal had dived during the fielding practice session. Soon, Kushal was taken to the Sanebe Medical Center where he was taken under hour long examination. As per the x-ray report, Kushal had his left shoulder bone broken.  According to team manager Sanjeev Kumar Pandey Kushal will be sent back home and a reserve player come in injured Kushal’s place.

Dreams deferred

Though, Kushal could not fit himself in the playing XI, he supported the team throughout the match after getting treatment. Talking to TNP, Kushal said, “I am not happy because I should have been there in the ground, not here. It’s really disappointing” adding, “I will get back to home with my dreams unfulfilled. I had plans to contribute greatly with bat in the tournament.”

Nepal – an all rounder side

Bahrain coach Amir Wasin claimed that Nepal was an all rounder team and a strong contender for the title. He also said that his side lacked the team spirit posed by Nepal. “We don’t have all-rounder players. We had problems in batting and bowling sections,” said coach, who also informed that Bahrain have recently started playing cricket. “We don’t have many cricket matches. Youngsters are learning to play cricket,” added coach, “We play cricket on cemented pitch and that troubled us playing on grassy pitch.”     

A massive win was must

Nepali team coach Manjur Alam Khan was happy with the triumph over the familiar opponent Bahrain. According to him, team required win to cope with the pressure against Malaysia in next match. “Boys played according to the strategy that earned the match for us,” said pleased coach. “I am really delighted win today’s result as we got an easy win,” added coach who opined that Deependra and Nurdhoj should be credited for the desired result. Also, Khan informed that team will take on Iran with same strategy.     

With inputs from Shreelochan Rajopadhyaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia



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