Nepal played well and we did not put enough runs on the board. The spinners were on top today and the Nepali batsmen backed them up nicely — Stephen Baard, Namibia skipper Kathmandu, April 16 Nepal skipper Paras Khadka urged the players to keep the momentum going after the team’s maiden victory in the ICC World Cricket League Championship here at the TU Stadium today. A relieved skipper said the team rejoiced the victory that took a lot of hard works. “We have started the New Year with a win and we need to keep the momentum going. As the team’s results in the WCL decide the fate of Nepali cricket, all the matches are important. It’s not just about one win, we have to raise the bar for the upcoming games,” said Khadka after Nepal’s five-wicket victory over Namibia in the third-round match. “The winning percentage has gone really low in the last one year and we have to recover that.” Khadka described Namibia match as a difficult one and it took a lot of hard works. “At one stage, they had upper hand. The pitch was behaving differently and batting was not easy in both innings. It was not an easy although we registered a five-wicket victory,” he said. Khadka praised the way Sharad Vesawkar and Binod Bhandari built the game. “Sharad held the innings nicely and Binod played a very important innings at a time when the team needed it the most,” said Khadka. The duo added 84 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket partnership to finish the match from a difficult position of 113-5. Khadka said the bowling conceded some 30 more runs. “We somehow managed to get those runs in batting but we cannot let things slip like this in upcoming matches,” he said. “We have given Binod the freedom and he proved his worth in pressure situation and in front of home crowd. He played a role in building partnership with Sharad and I am sure he has matured from this innings. He needs to move forward making it a building block. Both batsmen executed well as per the game plan.” Khadka said debutant legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane did well in the match and that the opening pair of Gyanendra Malla and Naresh Budayair did decent job in their new role. “Sandeep could have been more consistent but at the same time the opponents’ batsmen played really well as they knew hanging around at the crease was not an option. We are satisfied with the overall bowling performance except for the first two overs,” he added. “The opening pair has been always a question mark. It’s a team game but individuals will have to go there and perform when it mattered. The openers put up 40-plus score, so I think that was quite decent,” said Khadka. Coach Jagat Tamatta said the team’s aim was to win the match. “I am happy that we did it against a side that has been in Division-I for more than a decade,” said Tamatta, who is looking after the national team for the first time in WCL as a head coach. “The match went as per the plan, the opening pair did well and Sharad justified his role to finish the match. Paras built a partnership although we lost two quick wickets in the middle, and Binod played his role,” he said. “Overall the team played well and I am satisfied with their performance,” Tamatta added. Asked about his man-of-the-match, Tamatta said Vesawkar deserved the honour for his crucial innings and the way he built the game. Namibia skipper Stephen Baard said the team was disappointed with the loss. “Nepal played well and we did not put enough runs on the board. The spinners were on top today and the Nepali batsmen backed them up nicely,” he said. “We had a lot of dot balls that put the run rate down and that let us down although we did well in the latter part of the innings,” said Baard. He said playing in front of such crowd was amazing. “I must say quite amazing. For Associate cricket, crowd like this is simply brilliant for cricket all around the world.”