Nepal had to get to a winning start against the Netherlands in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup
Championship to build early momentum and consolidate their position in the group on Tuesday.

However, their efforts went in vain as they crashed to a six wicket defeat. Prior to the match,
there was an air of optimism and supporters believed that their team stood a good chance to
triumph.

Contrary to high expectations, Nepal underperformed and fell well short to concede the match
much to everyone’s dismay.

For Nepal it was like playing at home with the stadium packed overwhelmingly with their
supporters.Unfortunately they failed to take advantage of the support.

Given the batting friendly pitch, a solid performance by the batters was the need of the hour.

The outfit batting first needed to score anywhere between 190 to 200 runs in order to put
themselves in a strong position and apply pressure on the opposition in their run chase.

The Netherlands opted to field after winning the toss and their decision paid rich dividends as
they restricted the opposition to a measly total of 106.

The bowlers did their job well from start to finish, fully exploiting the fragile and inconsistent
batting.They scalped wickets at regular intervals not allowing partnerships to flourish.

Defending a paltry total was never going to be easy for Nepali bowlers.They did everything to
turn the tide in their favor but to no avail.

There was a ray of hope in the early part of the innings when the bowlers took a couple of
quick wickets and had the opponent on the ropes ,however, the batters got on top in the later
stages and walked away with the match.

Nepal’s batting woes once again came to the fore.The top-order buckled like a house of cards
with the sole exception of skipper Rohit Paudel who scored 35 runs.

The batters did not show any semblance of a fight back.They totally failed to build partnerships
and steady the innings.

They struggled to maintain their focus,composure and confidence. A majority of them threw
away their wickets at crucial junctures playing rash shots.

They lacked application, good shot selection and patience. Additionally, poor footwork and laid
back approach also contributed towards their downfall.

Making matters worse, they were unable to bat through the allocated 20 overs.

Had it not been a brief onslaught by Gulshan Jha(14) and Karan KC(17),the total could have
been a lot smaller.

Furthermore,Nepal’s fielding was subpar and sloppy.They dropped three crucial catches which
ultimately drove the final nail in their coffin.

I have maintained all along that the team’s success will be largely determined by the batting
performance.

Things are bound to go downhill for Head Coach Monty Desai boys if there is no improvement
in batting going forward .

Nepal next plays lackluster Sri Lanka who were demolished by South Africa on June 11th in
Florida

If they can get their act together in every department of the game they have a very good
chance to prevail against Sri Lanka.The key is stepping up,performing to full potential and
delivering the goods.

-By Sushil Thapa, Fairfax, VA