The men’s national cricket team of Nepal registered a crucial five wicket victory over Netherlands in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 in Dundee,Scotland, Wednesday to remain unbeaten in the tri-series.

The triumph was the result of a splendid collective effort.Despite losing the toss and bowling first,Nepali bowlers were at the top of their game and pinned down the opposition’s relatively strong batting line up.

The bowlers mixed accuracy,aggression, consistency,good line and length.The experienced pacer duo Sompal Kami and Karan KC stood up for their team.

Top wicket taker Kami bowled superbly,claiming three wickets and made the initial breakthrough when the opponent had just opened their account.

Hero of the first match KC further jolted the opposition by reducing them to 16 for 2 after he clean bowled O’ Dow.He accounted for two wickets.

Expectedly spinners Sandeep Lamichhane and Lalit Rajbhansi were up to the task.They restricted batters from freely scoring runs in later stages if the innings.

They made breakthroughs at critical junctures to cease the opposition from building a big total. Both bowlers each took two wickets.

The fielding was excellent and saved the team a significant chunk of runs.To add, they applied pressure on batters who had to grind to make runs.

Despite pressure and losing wickets at regular intervals the Dutch amassed a fighting total of 225 runs.

In the run chase, openers Khushal Bhurtel(25) and Aasif Sheikh (19) gave their team a modest start, sharing 32 runs for the first wicket.

The middle order batters,however,held the innings together. After skipper Rohit Paudel was run out for 23, Aarif Sheikh and Dipendra Singh Airee batted with utmost resiliency, confidence ,application, discipline and doggedness.

They shared a match winning 89 runs for the fourth wicket. Man of the match and top scorer Sheikh played a swashbuckling innings of 78 runs with the help of 7 fours and 2 sixes.

While allrounder Airee batted responsibly to remain unbeaten on 38 which included 3 hits to the short boundary . He was well supported by young allrounder Gulshan Jha who remained undefeated on 11 runs.The two guided the team to victory with 2.1 overs to spare.

By winning two must win matches consecutively they have kept their slate clean so far.

For the second time in as many matches they successfully completed the target chase,losing only five wickets.

It’s an encouraging sign to see the team’s batting order make a big difference, impacting the outcome of the match.

That being said,consistent batting is still pivotal to the team’s success going forward.

Keeping that in mind,batters have to further solidify their batting through consistency, sound techniques, right strategies and learning from mistakes.

They must stay focused,confident and committed,keep their momentum, and continue to
further build on their improved batting performance.

The bowlers have been the team’s strength for the most part.They need to be at their best to swing the upcoming matches in their favor and ease pressure on their batters.

Given the magnitude of the tie against the Dutch outfit, head coach Stuart Law was fully aware that they could not afford to lose in order to climb up the table standings and stay in the hunt for a spot in the next round. So far his team has delivered the desired results.

With back to back wins,the Australian couldn’t have asked for a better start to his stint with Team Nepal.

They next play hosts Scotland on Sunday June 8th.They should not get overwhelmed by the two wins, lose focus and become complacent.It is imperative to stay motivated,maintain momentum and drive,coupled with collectiv

By Sushil Thapa, Fairfax, VA