Nepal concluded their USA tour on Wednesday, 15th June with a loss against the USA. Nepal’s third away tour under CWC League 2 was unsatisfactory, the same as the previous two.
Despite playing 12 away matches, Nepal has grabbed just 11 points which obviously is below par.
Before the USA’s trip, Nepal’s win and loss ratio were equally balanced, however, they managed just one victory from the recent Tri-series and are placed in the fifth position of the table with 15 points from 16 matches.
Nepal once again has failed to deliver on the vital circumstance, they were able to accumulate just three points – which could have been all eight points. In the tournament opener, In spite of dominating Oman in the first inning, Nepal went on to give away easy two points. In the second match, Nepal snatched a point from the USA after a dramatic last over. But, if we look at Nepal’s bating they were 15/20 runs short after a terrific display from the top order.
The only time Nepal played flawless cricket was in the third match of the series, which they deservedly won. Restricted Oman for just 167 and chased it with 101 balls spare. Nepal were unable to chase down an average total of 246 runs in the series’ final match. The common assumption is the team should be able to chase these kinds of totals, especially in modern-day cricket.
What went wrong for Nepal?
Batting woes come on top whilst pointing out Nepal’s issues and it is obvious. In any of the four matches played on American soil, Nepal failed to bat for the full 50 overs. Another issue is that despite spending a lot of time in the crease, Nepali batters were unable to convert an average score into a big one. Except for the Nepali batters, all six countries’ batsmen have scored a century in League two.
Dipendra Singh Airee also had a forgetful outing. He managed just 30 runs and grabbed 2 wickets from four matches. Regular opener’s facing the injury and some easy catch drops in the field also put Nepal on trouble.
What Positives to take ahead?
Sheikh brothers had a decent outing. Aasif opening the inning scored 141 runs from three innings whereas Aarif piled up 137 runs batting in the middle order. Dev Khanal who was given no.3’s role was mature enough for the job, He added 132 runs although his strike rate needs a bit of improvement.
Another joyful aspect of Nepal Cricket was Karan Kc’s return to his finest form. Karan grabbed 13 wickets from 4 matches, taking two fifers.
What next for Nepal?
Nepal will head to Canada before touring Scotland to play the tri-series involving Namibia and the hosts Scotland under the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2.
