KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 27

Anjan Bista scored a hattrick as Nepal defeated Bangladesh in an international friendly match here at the Dasharath Stadium today.

Bista, one of the 10 national team players ousted by the then head coach Abdullah Almutairi from the close camp ahead of the Asian Cup Qualifiers in April, made a brilliant comeback with his first hat-trick to put the home side 3-0 ahead before the break. Sazzad Hossen replied for Bangladesh in the second half.

Bangladesh made the first move in the 17th minute but skipper Jamal Bhuyan struck against the bar from a free kick just outside the box. Nepali forward Bista then dominated the show. He put the home team ahead in the 18th minute when he headed home following a free kick from Bimal Gharti Magar.

Bista doubled the tally nine minutes later in rebound after Bangladesh goalkeeper Anisur Rahman failed to clear Tej Tamang's shot properly. Bista then completed his maiden hattrick in the 38th minute. He headed home following a free kick from Suman Aryal to score in his 10th international goal, three shy of alltime high scorers Hari Khadka and Nirajan Rayamajhi.

Bista became the sixth Nepali player to score a hattrick after Ganesh Thapa, Naresh Joshi, Nirajan Rayamajhi, Bharat Khawas and Nawayug Shrestha. Sazzad Hossen cut the deficit in the 57th minute after he met a deflected ball.

Aashish Chaudhary and Ritik Khadka made their national team debut after acting head coach Pradip Humagain made double substitution replacing them with Sesehang Angdembe and Bimal Gharti Magar in the 84th minute.

Hat-trick hero Anjan Bista said the match was just not a game for him. 'This was not just a game. I am not going to talk much about the past but I am happy to have the national flag on my chest after a long time. I cannot express the feeling of not getting to play for the national team in the past,' said Bista. 'I always played for the country and never made any demand. I played with the same excitement today as well. I always wanted my team to win rather than counting the number of goals,' he added.

Acting head coach Humagain lauded his players for putting up a wonderful performance.

'Full credit goes to the players and we were able to win only because of their hard works,' said Humagain.

'This win will definitely make difference in my career,' he added.

'My national team duty has come to an end and I am not certain about my roles with the Nepal national team in future,' said Humagain, who came to Nepal from the United States for the one-off friendly match.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 28, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.