Khadka helps script Nepal win
Nepal captain Paras Khadka hit an unbeaten 65 and claimed 1-31 to help his side score a 24-run victory over Bermuda in the side's Group A fixture at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Khadka corner-stoned the Nepalese innings when the 24-year-old struck 65 not out, his every shot delighting the 50 Nepalese supporters that came to support the side. Having come in at the departure of Pradeep Airee, Khadka's heroics alongside Sharad Vesawkar saw the duo add 75 runs for the third wicket partnership.
Khadka batted out the innings having arrived in the third over and played a fine array of shots in his innings including eight boundaries and one six. Dion Stovell was the pick of the Bermudan bowlers with 4-25, but failed to dismiss key-man Khadka.
On a blustery day Abu Dhabi, Khadka opened the bowling with Chandra Sawad but it was inform off-spinner Shakti Gauchan who got proceedings underway for the Nepal side.
Gauchan took two quick wickets when he arrived in the fourth over dismissing opener Dion Stovell as well as Lionel Cann. Khadka clean-bowled his Bermudian counterpart, David Hemp as the island nation continued to struggle to chase down the target, but only once did it manage to make the required run-rate and that was only in the first over of the match.
Ultimately Khadka and his men proved victorious despite a cameo from Janeiro Tucker who struck 32 before being bowled by Gauchan, who as of today (18 March) is currently the top wicket-taker in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012.
Post-match the Nepal captain said: "Bermuda didn't play that badly against us but they were always going to struggle to chase down 150 against our bowling. We've had a very good bowling side since the beginning. It was a good effort by our bowlers but maybe we could have improved a bit but that's always the case in any game.
"When we were batting this afternoon, after we lost the wicket in the second over, there was a good partnership and it was about me going out there and capitalizing on a good performance. We were getting boundaries pretty easily today, that helped me a lot whenever we tried to play the reverse-sweeps and the scoop shots it worked today and the out-field was very fast so it all worked in our favour."
Khadka commented ahead of the side's match against Netherlands tomorrow at GCA 1 in Dubai: "We play Netherlands tomorrow and we need to make sure everyone in the side picks up their game by at least 10 percent as that game is very important. We're here to compete, we are still not out of the tournament with two games to go, it's man versus man and it's just a game of cricket you never know what happens next and we're here to give our best. We focus on our strengths and maybe we can put up a good result."
A disappointed Hemp said: "There are positives we can take from this game, but I still don't think we bowl as well as we can and certainly today the wicket get harder to bat on second. It's obviously frustrating at the moment as whatever we try and do, combinations we use, it's not working for us. Bottom line is we aren't doing out disciplines well enough either chasing down scores or with the ball in our hand, our defending or our setting up of a game and that's what we've got to look at but it's even tougher when you get on a losing streak."
Nepal beat Bermuda by 24 runs in Abu Dhabi
Nepal 151-6, 20 overs (Paras Khadka 65 not out, Sharad Vesawkar 44; Dion Stovell 4-25)
Bermuda 127-5, 20 overs (Janeiro Tucker 32; Shakti Gauchan 3-17, Paras Khadka 1-31)
Man of the match: Paras Khadka (Nepal)