ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018: Hits and Misses
KATHMANDU, March 21: The national cricket team ended its ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 campaign last week with a historic achievement of securing the One Day International (ODI) status and an eighth-place finish in Zimbabwe above two fellow associates Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Hong Kong. This is the first time Nepal has been recognized as an ODI team in the cricket world.
There were plenty of good performances from both the batsmen and the bowlers who helped Nepal achieve the elite division. While there were forgettable displays too that need to be addressed in the days to come with Asian Cricket Council’s Asia Cup, to be organized soon, being the main focus.
Here are some hits and misses of the tournament:
Hits
Batting
Paras Khadka
He maintained the strike rate of 87.83 with the highest score of 75 runs in a six-wicket defeat to Afghanistan. He hit 34 boundaries and two sixes in the tournament.
Dipendra Singh Airee
He made 143 runs in six matches with a strike rate of 70.79 including 12 fours and four sixes in the tournament. His individual best came against the cross-over playoff against the Papua New Guinea (PNG) when he hit an unbeaten 50 to propel Nepal to a commanding six-wicket win.
Sompal Kami
He became one of four Nepali players to reach the three digits figure followed by Aarif Sheikh, as he got 112 runs in six matches with a 64.73 strike rate. He hit a total of 11 boundaries and a six in the tournament and his highest run was unbeaten 37 in a five-wicket victory over Hong Kong in its last group stage match.
His 36, the highest in the match for Nepali batsmen against Netherlands, went in vain as Nepal lost the seventh-place finish.
Bowling
Sandeep Lamichhane
Sompal Kami
The three usual suspects in any bowling charts of Nepal always includes Sompal Kami as one of the top-trio. Sompal remained Nepal’s best allrounder in recent tournaments making the both batting and bowling lists.
His performances improved picking up 8 wickets in 6 matches as the tournament progressed. His best 24/4 was against the Netherlands in Nepal’s last match of the tournament against the technically better players of pace.
Lalit Rajbanshi
With an economy of 4.31, Rajbanshi bowled 41 overs and had the best bowling figure of 38/2. He played all the group matches ahead of veteran Shakti Gauchan and kept his place in the XI making crucial contributions for the team.
Misses
Batting
Gyanendra Malla
Anil Kumar Sah
He hit seven boundaries and had the highest of 26 against Hong Kong. A lot was expected from him after a poor run of form by Dilip Nath, but he failed to deliver at an unnatural position.
Dilip Nath
Bowling
Paras Khadka
Captain Khadka had the most notable impact with the bat for Nepal, but his bowling weathered off on qualifiers.
Mostly dependable, Khadka struggled to fetch any wickets in four innings of the six matches he played in the tournament and gave away 106 runs in 18 overs. His economy rate of 5.88 was the worst recorded by any Nepali bowler in the tournament.
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