Nepal progressed through the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 beating UAE in qualifying rounds last year. They announced a balanced squad for the mega event as Sandeep Lammichhane was not included.
They were clubbed with South Africa, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh in Group D for this ICC T20 World Cup. Before the mega event started, Nepal featured in two warm-up matches against Canada and the United States of America. After a massive defeat against Canada, their 2nd fixture against the USA was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Here we look at the detailed performance of Nepal in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024:
- Nepal vs Netherlands
Nepal began their T20 World Cup journey against the Netherlands at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, Texas in the 7th match of the tournament on 4th June 2024. It was overcast conditions that put batters under immense pressure.
Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and decided to field first. Nepal lost two early wickets of Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel cheaply. Anil Sah and captain Rohit Paudel steadied the ship before Nepal kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Rohit Paudel looked confident with his attacking shots.
Karan KC and Gulshan Jha had late resistance as Nepal was bundled out for 106 in 19.2 overs. Rohit Paudel was the top scorer with 35. Tim Pringle and Van Beek took 3 wickets each while Van Meekeren and Bas de Leede took 2 wickets each.
It was an ideal start for Nepal as Sompal Kami got rid of Michael Levitt in his first over. Nepal bowlers kept it tight not allowing the Netherlands batters to score runs easily.
Max O Dowd was dropped at long-off which could have changed the momentum. Nepal bowlers tried their best, but Max O Dowd’s half-century helped the Netherlands register 6 wickets win with 8 balls to spare. Sompal Kami was the best bowler for Nepal with 1 for 18, Dipendra Singh Airee and Abinash Bohra took 1 wicket each.
2Â Nepal vs Sri Lanka
The match between Nepal and Sri Lanka was abandoned without a ball being bowled at Lauderhill, Florida on 12th June. Both teams were awarded 1 point each.
3. Nepal vs South Africa
Nepal faced South Africa in a must-win situation played at Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, St Vincent on 15th June 2024.
Nepal captain Rohit Paudel won the toss and decided to field first. After a decent start by de Kock and Reeza Hendricks, Dipendra Singh struck getting rid of de Kock with a simple return catch.
Kushal Bhurtel dismissed South African captain Aiden Markram taking inside edge onto the stumps ending 46 runs partnership for the 2nd wicket. Kushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh bowled with great control putting breaks on South African batting. Dipendra Singh Airee took 3 for 21 while Kushal Bhurtel took his best figures of 4 for 19 in 4 overs. It was a disciplined bowling effort by Nepal bowlers as they restricted them to just 115 for 7 wickets.
Chasing 116 runs to win, Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh provided an attacking start putting on 35 runs for the opening wicket. Nepal captain Rohit Paudel was dismissed without opening his account.
Anil Sah and Aasif Sheikh put Nepal on course for a famous with 50 runs partnership for the 3rd wicket. With the lack of experience, Nepal crumbled under pressure. With 2 runs required off the final delivery, Gulshan Jha was run out to lose by just 1 run. It was an impressive performance by the Nepal team as they almost stunned South Africa.
Aasif Sheikh was the top scorer with 42 while Anil Sah made 27. Dipendra Singh Airee and Kushal Malla went cheaply. Sompal Kami hit a vital boundary to keep Nepal on course. Nepal made 114 for 7 in 20 overs.
4. Nepal vs Bangladesh
Nepal faced Bangladesh in their final league game played at Kingstown, St Vincent on 17th June 2024. Nepal captain won the toss again and decided to field first.
It was an ideal start as Sompal Kami struck on the first ball getting rid of Tanzid Hasan with a simple return catch. Dipendra Singh Airee produced a peach to dismiss Shanto.
Nepal bowlers and fielders created pressure on Bangladesh’s batting line-up. The pitch had lots of help for the bowlers. It was a terrific bowling effort by Nepal bowlers as they bundled out Bangladesh for 106 in 19.3 overs. Sompal Kami, Dipendra Singh Airee, Rohit Paudel, and Sandeep Lammichhane took 2 wickets each.
Chasing 107 runs to win, it was a shaky start for Nepal as they wickets of Kushal Bhurtel, Anil Sah, Rohit Paudel, Aasif Sheikh, and Sundeep Jora cheaply. Dipendra Singh Airee and Kushal Malla steadied the ship taking singles and hitting boundaries to keep scoreboard ticking.
Kushal Malla was dismissed in the 17th over by Mustafizur Rahman which changed the momentum in favor of Bangladesh. Kushal Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee added 52 runs for the 6th wicket.
It was a disappointing batting performance as Gulshan Jha and Sompal Kami were dismissed without opening his account. Dipendra Singh could not hit boundaries against Rahman and got out while trying to take a single. Nepal lost the match by 21 runs as they scored just 85 in 19.2 overs. Kushal Malla was the top scorer with 27 with 1 six and 1 four while Dipendra Singh Airee made 25 with 2 fours and 1 six.
Nepal’s bowling looked impressive in the matches against South Africa and Bangladesh. Their top order needs to perform consistently challenging the big teams in future tournaments.
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