Kathmandu, February 23:

Nepali cricket team that won the Plate Championship in the ICC U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka received a warm welcome upon their arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport today.

Nepal had defeated New Zealand by one wicket in the final to register a historical win. Although, Nepal failed to advance to the Super League, they succeeded to earn respect from the cricketing world with their brilliant allround performance.

Nepal defeated another Test nation South Africa by two runs in the semi-finals. They were also close in two other matches against England and Zimbabwe in the league stage. Nepal restricted England to 209 runs while Nepali colts lost to Zimbabwe by just two runs.

“I am proud of my boys,” said Nepal’s coach Roy Luke Dias. “We were able to pull two upset results and were too close against Zimbabwe,” Dias added. He also praised his boys for their excellent performance throughot the tournament. “They did a good job in all the departments and the country should be proud for their achievement,” said the former Sri Lankan Test player.

Skipper Chaugian said that the whole team equally contributed in the achievement.

He said that they bowled, batted and fielded well. “We beat two Test nations on our way to Plate Championship, which is a remarkable thing,” he added. He also said that even Engalnd and Zimbabwe praised their performance.

Nepal won four out of the six matches in the tournament. They lost against England and Zimbabwe and won against Ireland in the league. In the Plate championship, they defeated Uganda, South Africa and New Zealand.

Minister for Education and Sports Radha Krishna Mainali, member secretary of National Sports Council Kishor Bahadur Singh, president of Cricket Association of Nepal Jai Kumar Nath Shah and other CAN members were present to welcome the team.