Nepali bowlers baffled the Thailand batsmen as Nepal inflicted a humiliating 9-wicket defeat on the opponents in the 7^th match of the 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20.

Nepal attained the 67-run target set by Thailand in just 5.3 overs losing only 1 wicket in the match today, i.e., March 4, 2020.

Kushal Malla scored 36 runs including 5 fours and 2 sizes off 18 balls and Pawan Sarraf made 27 runs including 2 fours and 3 sixes off 10 balls.

Photo: ACC

Earlier, Thailand won the toss lost and decided to bat first. Thailand scored 66 runs losing all wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Surprisingly, the 17-runs it gained from extras is greater than the individual scores of the batsmen.

Henno Jordaan and Phiriyapong Suanchuai are the only batsmen to reach double-digit runs for Thailand. They scored 13 runs each.

Nepal bowlers including Sandeep Lamichhane, Bhuvan Karki, Abinash Bohara and Karan KC collectively choked the opponent batsmen with their splendid spell.

Karan KC took the highest 3 wickets in 4 overs conceding only 12 runs, while Abinash claimed 2 wickets in 4 overs. Sandeep and Bhuvan took 1 wicket each.

So far, Nepal has played 3 matches and won only one. Whereas, Thailand has lost all the 4 matches.

As of now, Nepal is at 4^th position in the points table with 2 points, while Thailand is residing at the last spot with 0 points.

Photo: ACC

Match Summary

• Thailand: 66 All out
• Nepal: 72/1
• Result: Nepal won by 9 wickets (with 87 balls remaining)
• Points: Nepal 2, Thailand 0

ACC T20 Eastern Region 2020 – Points Table

Nepal will play against Singapore in the 9^th match of the ongoing T20 tournament on March 6, 2020.

Background

Nepal is all set to square off against Thailand in the 7th match of the 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20 at Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok on March 4, 2020.

The match starts at 9:30 AM local time (NST 8:15 AM).

The match is crucial for both the teams as they have not yet secured a win in the ongoing tournament.

So far, Nepal played two matches, while Thailand played three matches.

As of now, Nepal is on the fourth spot of the points table and Thailand is on the fifth spot, both with zero points.

Watch Live Score Card Match 7: Nepal Vs Thailand

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Nepal’s Cricket History

Cricket was first introduced to Nepal in the 1920s by Lt. Gen. Madan Shumsher JBR, the youngest son of the Rana Prime Minister, Maharaja Chandra Shumsher JBR. Considered as a Gentleman’s sport during that time, the game was limited to the aristocratic Rana family and other elite members of Nepal.  Until the dawn of democracy in 1951, cricket solely belonged to the royals.

The year 1946 saw the formation of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) which was formed as a means to promote the game of Nepal among the aristocrats.

Later in 1961, the Cricket Association of Nepal was made part of the National Sports council with the aim to promote sports in the entire country.

Nepal’s International Titles and Achievements

Nepal’s entry into the ‘big playground’ began with becoming an ‘Affiliate Member’ of the International Cricket Council’ (ICC) in 1988. This triggered a major movement in the country that saw the inception of regional and district tournaments that began in the early 1990s.

The game picked up rapidly winning the interest of the local population in turn increasing its demand.

Nepal’s ties with the ICC strengthened, when it became an ‘Associate Member’ to the latter in 1996. That’s when Nepal played for ACC Trophy in Kuala Lampur, taking cricket for this land-locked country off the home-ground. Nepal beat Brunei and Japan to finish fourth among the six teams that qualified for the first round.

By 1998, Nepal had become self-sufficient to hold a match of international level. The ACC Trophy 1998 was hosted in Lalitpur, Kirtipur and Kathmandu. However, it did not win the tournament.

In 2004, Nepal played its first, ‘first-class cricket’ by playing for the ‘ICC International Cup’ against UAE and Malaysia. It managed to beat Malaysia but got left behind after failing to win the semi-final stage where it had a draw with UAE.

The 2008 ICC World Cup World Cricket League Division Five of the World Cricket League became a memorable year for Nepal when Mehboob Alam set a World Record of taking all ten wickets of the Mozambique team. His name was added to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the first bowler to take 10 wickets in an ICC match.

The year 2010 saw Nepal win its first major tournament against USA in the final round of 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Kathmandu.

Nepal’s performance at the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia qualified them for the 2015-17 ICC World Cricket League Championship. They failed to reach the face-off for the finals after they finished third in Division of the 2015 ICC World Cricket League. Although, Basanta Regime’s performance led him to become the first bowler to take 100 wickets in the World Cricket League.

The Current Scenario

Nepal stands second after it played Division Two of the 2018 ICC World Cricket League. This had led The Rhinos to become the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

After defeating Papua New Guinea on March 15, 2018 in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Nepal won the One Day International (ODI) status for the first time. Also, Nepal has also regained T20 International status.

Nepal now has eyes for the Test status and the Rhinos captain Paras Khadka hopes to achieve it in another eight to ten years.

The Heat-Brawl Over Administration and Good Cricket

Despite Nepal’s tremendous performance in the field of cricket, the country is staggering over the absence of the game’s governing body, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). Following the constant interference of politics in the administration of the game, the ICC had suspended the CAN in 2016.

While Nepal continues to perform fantastically at the international front, the country faces a crisis in terms of funding due to the absence of the CAN. This has badly hit internal matches that take place within the country and that are crucial in bringing out the best of players.

Commenting on the situation, the ex-CEO of the CAN says, “The development of cricket in Nepal is stagnant right now. Presently we have no administrative body as well as no money to run the game. Quite obviously, it has had a direct impact on our domestic cricket. Apart from a few privately-run tournaments, there hasn’t been any cricket in the country for the past two years. As a result, young talents are not coming up, which is affecting our team selection”.

In 2015, Ghimire was the first person to understand the need for an ODI status and mentioned it in her annual report. When the awaited status was finally award through her efforts, the CAN was dissolved.

However, she has not lost hope and goes on to say, ”I personally believe Nepal can achieve Test status by 2030, or even before that. We are perfectly capable. But until and unless we sort out our internal administrative issues, it doesn’t seem possible”.

In an attempt to address the administrative crisis, the newly appointed Minister for Youth and Sports in Nepal, Jagat Bahadur Bishwakarma has said that they need to start giving primary importance to finding a solution to the crisis at hand.

New Hope!

The One Day International Status has brought new hope to the Rhinos. The captain of the Nepali cricket team, Paras Khadka praised his team after their achievement of the ODI status. The six-wicket victory over Papa Guinea renewed the spirits of the players and gave them a promise of a golden tomorrow.

Dipendra Singh Airee and leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane ensured victory when both of them took 4 wickets each, leaving the opponent team staggering. Airee’s unbeaten half-century contributed to the much-coveted status.

Expressing his immense joy, Khadka says, “It’s massive it’s something we have worked towards for a very long time”.

“As a team we’ve been pushing ourselves. We’re very glad that we’re winning games through different situations, players are standing up and everyone’s contributing.”

“As a captain I’m happy to lead such an amazing bunch of boys.”

Nepal records an increase in attendance of up to 20,000 spectators. With a pipeline of achievements in the cricket scenario, there is growing enthusiasm among the local population.

On a hopeful note:
We hope that Nepal brings home many more trophies and honors and we see more and more young stars like Sandeep Lamichhane make their nations proud.

Nepal Cricket 2018 News Highlights & More Information

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