Nepal's Achilles heel has been batting and death bowling. They were irritatingly seen in the last 50 over match against the US
The country's morale had recently hit rock bottom due to multiple crises emerging one after the other. Firstly, the Gen Z-guised infiltrators inflicted the kind of damage never witnessed in its long history. The demise of 75 persons, including several Gen Z members and security personnel, was just beyond imagination. The destruction of the Parliament building, the historic Chief Secretariat, the Supreme Court along with several other government buildings, including corporate and private ones, all around the country further dented the national psyche.
Secondly, the heavy rains that lashed several parts of the country were so severe that 53 persons died overnight. The damaged road infrastructure has just begun limping back to its normal state. Thirdly, the longtime hope that Bipin Joshi would be alive like several other prisoners held by Hamas evaporated when he was declared to have already breathed his last. It brought tears to the eyes of not only the Joshi family but also to all the Nepalis.
The series victory of the Nepali Cricket team over two-time world Champion, the West Indies, in a 20 over cricket match held in the United Arab Emirates, however, acted like a light on the other side of the tunnel. The win over the associate cricketing countries – Japan, UAE, Oman, Samoa, Qatar, and Kuwait – thereby securing the top slot and bagging the trophy further boosted up the sagging national spirit. Some of them had pulled the victory virtually from the jaws of defeat.
Cricket is a British game which has been played since the time of the Anglo Saxons that goes back to the seventh century. This was the time when the Licchavis were ruling in Nepal. Wrestling appears to have been a popular sport in Nepal then because a yearly budget allocation of 68 Panas, the local currency, was made according to the inscription in Lele erected during the dual reign of Shiva Dev and Amsu Verma in the year 604.
The cricket match played among countries is known as the Test Match. The first match is said to have been played between England and Australia in 1877 when Junga Bahadur had just died a year before in Nepal. The Test Match used to be of five days, and in the beginning, it would even go beyond to produce the result. Even after playing for so many days, it could still end in a draw.
A one-day 60 overs game emerged in 1972, and following its fanfare because of a lesser time duration, the first World Cup was played in 1976 in England. It was later reduced to 50 overs in 1987. It was further reduced to 20 overs in 2003. The International Cricket Council (ICC), the guardian of the global cricket, has approved the 10 overs format also.
The Nepali game, which has a remote resemblance to cricket, is Dandi Biyo, which is played with a stump like bat and a smaller timber supplement for a bail. Unfortunately, it was displaced by volleyball as it could be played even on a small ground in the hills.
Cricket came to Nepal much later in the twenties. It was promoted by Major General Madan Shumsher. Nepal became a member of the ICC in 1996. Consequently, it had qualified for the 20 over match, first ever, in 2016 and even beat Afghanistan which reached the semis.
Whilst Afghanistan scaled dizzy heights in cricket, despite being a war-torn country, Nepal saw a nose-dive after the Cricket Association of Nepal was suspended for some time. But now again it has come to its earlier self. As a result, it qualified for the second time in 2022, in which it lost to South Africa by a margin of 1 run. Though it lost all the matches, amongst them one spoiled by rain, it won the hearts of millions around the globe.
Nepal's forte has been in fielding and bowling. Dipendra Singh Airee enjoys the distinction of having five continuous run outs with the likes of Indian Yuva Raj Singh and the South African Herschel Gibbs. Sandip Lamicchane is one of the best leg spinners with 150 wickets in his bag, the first 100 coming in 54 matches, only next to Afghanistani Rashid Khan's 53. Left-arm spinner, Lalit Rajbanshi also has a knack of taking wickets in the first spell. Fast bowlers, Sompal Kami and Karan KC, usually take wickets in the first power-play and score runs as well, but they have to be more regular. The new bowler Nandan Yadav is likely to fulfil the necessity of a genuine fast bowler which Nepal has lacked since a long time.
Nepal's Achilles heel has, however, been batting and death bowling. They were irritatingly seen in the last 50 over match against the United States. It conceded too many runs in the death. And its front-line batters Kushal Bhurtel as well as Captain Rohit Poudel could not secure a double-digit score.
Nepal has been blessed with good allrounders like Airee, Poudel, Kami, KC, Bhurtel, Malla, and 19-year-old Gulshan Jha in particular. But the most important is Nepal's twelfth man, the cricket fans, who fill the stadium round the globe boosting the morale of the team in times, thick and thin.
Nepal is now in the UAE playing for the qualification of the 50 overs game alongside the United States and UAE, which hold the first and last position, respectively. Nepal is second last in the table and must win most of the following matches.
Nepal is second last in the table, to improve which it had to win most of the following matches. Unfortunately, against all expectations, it has lost three matches in a row despite a century hit by Captain Poudel. The loss of Jha's form has been another stumbling block.
But Nepal enjoys the history of winning 12 matches in a row under the charismatic coach Monty Desai. With the recent victory over the West Indies, a Test Playing Nation, as well as continuous triumphs in the 20 overs game qualifier under the guidance of yet another experienced coach Stuart Law, it is expected to qualify even in the middle format by registering victories in the following series if not in the current one.
