Nepal’s Sri Lankan coach Pubudu Dassanayake is looking forward for a flying start in the tournament which begins at TU cricket ground in Kirtipur as he believes that the first match will have a great impact throughout the tournament.[break]
“We want to start well, keep the level throughout the tournament and finish the game on a high note,” said Dassanayake on Monday after his team’s last practice session before the tournament.
“The first match is always vital and a resounding victory will boost the morale of team throughout the tournament,” said the Sri Lankan, who guided Nepal to back-to-back titles of the World Cricket League Div 4 and ACC Trophy Elite last year.
The tournament is also a gateway for Nepal to realize its World Cup dream in the shortest format of the tournament. Top two finishers will get direct entry to the tournament. But if the UAE and Afghanistan secure the top two spots, then the semifinalists will also get a chance to qualify as Afghanistan has already qualified by the virtue of its ODI status and UAE as the host nation.
“Although we are ready, we have some hiccups underway. Nevertheless, we trained really well in Pokhara. The boys are confident and very clear about their roles,” said Dassanayake.
Dassanayke is in no mood to take the Maldives lightly. “We are not going to underestimate any team. Though we are better team than the Maldives, bad wicket and bad condition can bring the teams to equal terms.”
Maldives coach Nilantha Cooray of Sri Lanka, who has been looking after the team since last month, is optimistic of his side beating the host.
“I hope to win the match against Nepal,” said Cooray. “We had good training session for the last three weeks but we don’t have natural turf like that of Nepal. However, we trained in Sri Lanka last week,” said Cooray, who believes bowling is the strongest part of his team. He rated Nepal as a strong side with good spinners.
Captain Khadka aims memorable start
Nepali squad’s captain Paras Khadka wants to make a memorable start to the tournament that falls on the day of Holi, the festival of colors. “We want to make colorful beginning by beating Maldives and we are confident about it,” said Khadka.
“We are well prepared and have not spared anything. In comparison to the previous tournaments, we have worked quite very hard,” said Khadka.
“The training in Pokhara had been very fruitful to us. Everyone in the squad knows his responsibility and can adopt in different situation. If we play up to our potential, we can win the match.”
Meanwhile, Khadka has also asked Nepali fans to maintain restrain during the match irrespective of any outcome. “Winning and losing are part of a game. I request fans to behave well,” said Khadka, referring to the incident in which Nepali fans had pelted stones against the America team during World Cricket League Division 5 in 2010.
ixteen months ago, too, Nepali cricket fans had hurled stones at the ground during Nepal´s ACC T20 Cup match against the UAE bringing disrepute to Nepali cricket.
Nepal’s record against Maldives
Both Nepal and the Maldives began their international debut in the cricket in 1996. The two teams were regular rivals about 10 years ago. Nepal had defeated the Maldives by five wickets in ACC Trophy back in 2000 with 91 runs from Kiran Agrawal.
Within a span of six months, Nepal and the Maldives faced each other four times in 2003 during the Emerging Nations Cup consisting of three nations including Bhutan. Nepal hosted the event twice and defeated the Maldives on all four occasions. It was the first official international tournament won by Nepal.
Tuesday’s match will be the second meeting between Nepal and the Maldives in the shortest format of cricket. The last time these two sides met was during the 2013 Guangzhou Asian Games in China. Nepal had defeated the Maldives by 75 runs then. The Maldives could manage 54/8 in reply to 130-run target set by Nepal.
Nepali team
Nepal’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake said he would decide the starting XI only on Tuesday morning after inspecting the wicket condition. However, he has almost set the team. The Sri Lankan has confirmed Subash Khakurel and Pradip Aire as the opening batsmen. If the condition is not favorable, he is also likely to test Binod Bhandari as opener. Anil Mandal will not be listed in the starting XI.
One of the seamers among Amrit Bhattarai and Chandra Saud is likely to be the in starting line-up. Similarly, one among Sarad Vesawakar, Prithu Baskota, Sanjam Regmi and Manjeet Shrestha will not be in the starting line-up. Shrestha is likely to feature in the top order due to his aggressive nature in batting. Regmi is likely to come as the third spinner.
Related story
New-look Nepal takes on Maldives today
-1776353206.webp)
