Thursday, September 6, 2012

Magical Shakti sets up big win


Shakti Gauchan bowled a memorable spell to set up Nepal’s thumping 10-wicket victory over hosts Malaysia in the World Cricket League Division 4 at the Selangor Turf Club.
Shakti’s figure 10-8-2-3, the best economy in one-dayers between nations, helped Nepal bowl out Malaysia to 69 all out in 32.1 overs before Nepali openers Anil Mandal (41 not out) and Subash Khakurel (24 not out) raced to victory in 12.2 overs finishing the match before lunch.
Shakti Gauchan
Man of the match Shakti bowled 41 dot balls straight as Malaysia struggled after losing early wickets. Amrit Bhattarai grabbed two-in-two removing Rakesh Madhavan and S Alagaratnam in 5th over. Binod Das made it three-in-four-ball for pacers claiming wicket of H Ullah Khan (12) next over as Malaysia went down to 16/3.
Fromt hen on, Ahmed Faiz and Shafiq Sharif staged a minor recovery playing pacers with confidence and adding 36 runs for fourth wicket. But their recovery ended with introduced of spin.
Basant Regmi claimed Faiz (13) in his first over and Sharif (22) in his second to end the resistance. Then onward, Basant and Shakti combined to bowl 10 overs – from 21 to 30 – conceding only 5 runs.
Shakti took two-in-two in getting rid of KH Durrani and Nik Arifin in 21st over making it 60/8. The last two wickets fell successively – one each to off-spinner Sanjam Regmi and Basant as Malaysia ended with a lowly total.
Anil Mandal
Man of the match Shakti bowled 41 dot balls straight as Malaysia struggled after losing early wickets. Amrit Bhattarai grabbed two-in-two removing Rakesh Madhavan and S Alagaratnam in 5th over. Binod Das made it three-in-four-ball for pacers claiming wicket of H Ullah Khan (12) next over as Malaysia went down to 16/3.
Fromt hen on, Ahmed Faiz and Shafiq Sharif staged a minor recovery playing pacers with confidence and adding 36 runs for fourth wicket. But their recovery ended with introduced of spin.
Basant Regmi claimed Faiz (13) in his first over and Sharif (22) in his second to end the resistance. Then onward, Basant and Shakti combined to bowl 10 overs – from 21 to 30 – conceding only 5 runs.
Shakti took two-in-two in getting rid of KH Durrani and Nik Arifin in 21st over making it 60/8. The last two wickets fell successively – one each to off-spinner Sanjam Regmi and Basant as Malaysia ended with a lowly total.


Basant also needs a special mention as it was a hattrick of his three-wicket haul. He is at the top of the top wicket-takers in the tournament with 9 wickets. Amrit Bhattarai is jointly second with USA’s T Allen with 6 wickets each.
In other matches, USA beat Tanzania by 7 wickets chasing the target of 93 in 9 overs.
After third round of match, Nepal is atop the league table with 6 points and net run rate of +2.95.
Brief Score: Nepal 71/0 in 12.2 overs (Anil Mandal 41 not out, Subash Khakurel 24 not out) beat Malaysia 69 all out in 32.1 overs (Shakti Gauchan 3/2, Basant Regmi 3/12, Amrit Bhattarai 2/19, Sanjam Regmi 1/6, Binod Das 1/28) by 10 overs. Man of the Match: Shakti Gauchan




Nepal start Division 4 on a winning note


Nepal got off to a winning start at the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 4 (WCL Div. 4) tournament in Malaysia today after Paras Khadka’s side beat Singapore by five wickets despite losing early wickets when chasing down the small total of 112.
Nepal overcame Singapore by five wickets at the Selangor Turf Club in a low-scoring match. Singapore was bowled out for 111 in 39.5 overs after opting to bat first, while Anish Param was the top-scorer for Singapore with 31. Amrit Bhattarai (4-28) and Basanta Regmi (3-30) were the leading wicket-takers for Nepal.
In its reply Nepal slipped to 47 for five after lunch in a worrying start for Khadka’s side. Pradeep Airee (34 not out) and Shakti Gauchan (18 not out) added unbeaten 65 runs for the sixth wicket to lead Nepal home in 24.5 overs after the duo stabilised the Nepalese innings to secure victory.
“Amrit got the ball rolling for us with his fine performance and we took advantage of the early wicket to unsettle the opponent. It was not one of the easiest wickets to bat on but the middle order guys kept their cool and went on to win the match for us,” said Khadka.
In the other matches of the day, Denmark beat Tanzania by 88 runs and USA secure a 70 runs victory over Malaysia.
Match Summary:
Singapore 111 all out, 39.5 overs (Anish Param 31; Amrit Bhattarai 4-28, Basanta Regmi 3-30)
Nepal 112-5, 24.5 overs (Pradeep Airee 34 not out, Shakti Gauchan 18 not out; Mahboob 3-37)
Nepal won by five wickets
Player of the Match: Amrit Bhattarai (Nepal)