Kathmandu, February 14

Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel said the team needed to carry the momentum forward after their two-wicket victory over Namibia in the ODI tri-series match under the ICC Cricket World Cup League-II here at the TU Stadium today.

'As a team we are happy to create a history today as we had not chased 286 in the past.

It's commendable the way Kushal [Bhurtel] started and [Sundeep] Jora finished the match,' said Paudel, who himself became the first Nepali cricketer to reach 1,000 ODI runs. 'We have to carry the momentum from here as chasing a 286-run target is a booster for each member of the team,' he added.

Paudel said head coach Monty Desai had a belief in us and we proved him right. 'He asked us to play freely without panicking and it was the coach who gave us confidence of chasing the target,' said Paudel. 'He just asked us to play as we did in training and the players materialised the team plan.'

Paudel said reaching a milestone was a proud moment for him. 'I am very happy to get the record as I am feeling confident while batting. I hope to carry this momentum through the tournament,' he said. Paudel also lauded Karan KC for his performance. 'We should declare February 14 as Karan KC day as his performance in today's match was commendable,' he added.

Kushal Bhurtel was a happy man to get the maiden ODI century. 'Scoring first ODI century is always a special one but I am more happy that the team was able to chase the 286-run target to win the match,' said Bhurtel. 'We have made plans for our next 12 matches and it was a perfect opening to that.'

'We knew a couple of partnerships were crucial to win the match and we knew the wickets at TU Stadium would favour batsmen in second innings.

And I am happy that I was able to share an important partnership with Rohit [Paudel] that helped us to win the match,' said Bhurtel.

He also expressed his happiness over the positive environment in the dressing room.

'Sandeep Lamichhane came after a long break and each member of the team is very supportive towards him. And most importantly, our coach inspires us to be positive and he has been backing us all the time,' he added.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 15, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.