Zimbabwe look for strong start against Nepal

OverviewZimbabwe v Nepal
Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
CWCQ, Match 3
Sunday 4 March; 09:30 local time, 07:30 GMT

Nepal have been one of the stories of world cricket in recent times – the new Afghanistan, so to say, with good performances on the field and an atmosphere of utter fanaticism off it. The aura around the team became even stronger after a series of heart-stopping wins in the ICC World Cricket League Division Two, which put them in the final and therefore in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018.

Once in Zimbabwe, too, Nepal have looked the part, with a commendable win in a rain-hit warm-up game against two-time World Cuppers UAE, which was reduced to 29 overs-a-side.

Sandeep Lamichhane, their celebrated teenaged leg-spinner, didn’t even get among the wickets but Lalit Bhandari, the left-arm pacer, Karan KC, the right-arm fast-medium bowler, and Lalit Rajbanshi, the left-arm spinner, picked up nine wickets between them to shoot UAE out for 171. Nepal got to the target for the loss of five wickets with four balls left in their chase as Paras Khadka (28), Sharad Vesawkar (41*), Dipendra Singh Airee (41) and Aarif Sheikh, who scored a quick 15-ball 23 not out, came good.

It was a good win, one that should give Nepal a boost ahead of a tough tournament-opener against Zimbabwe, the home side and one of the favourites with nine continuous World Cup appearances – 1983 to 2015 – behind them.

Nepal would have wanted the rain to stay away in Kwekwe for their other warm-up game, against Hong Kong, but Zimbabwe can feel the same way, after their warm-up game against Ireland in Bulawayo was also washed out. But the hosts did get a full 50-over game against Papua New Guinea, which they won comfortably by five wickets, with two of their batsmen retiring.

Zimbabwe’s one-day international series in Sharjah against Afghanistan in February didn’t go too well as they lost 4-1, but quite a few of their players looked in good touch. Of the batsmen, Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Craig Ervine got runs, while Tendai Chatara, the right-arm pacer, and Graeme Cremer, the captain and leg-spinner, were among the wickets.

They might have lost, but the series gave them match time against strong opposition, and that should hold Zimbabwe in good stead against Nepal, a team high on confidence. They would back themselves to start with a win in their bid to get into the ICC Cricket World Cup again, but with Lamichhane, Khadka and a host of skilful players in the other corner, they have to be on their guard.

Key players **Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe):**The experienced wicket-keeper batsman was out of the picture for Zimbabwe for a while, but has settled in nicely since coming back. There was the half-century against Sri Lanka in Dhaka in January 2018 and then the big one, 125 – his ninth ODI century – against Afghanistan in Sharjah, which gave Zimbabwe their only win in the series. Taylor has played three World Cups, scoring some runs in 2007 and 2011 before really turning it on in 2015 with his sequence of scores reading 40, 47, 37, 50, 121 and 138. He’d like to bring some of that form back, and that should help Zimbabwe.
**Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal):**Now that Rashid Khan has moved beyond ‘talented’ and ‘exciting’ to being a star, Lamichhane is quite the hot new thing on the block. Just 17, the leg-spinner has come into prominence in a big way in recent times, the 17 wickets in the WCL helping Nepal making it through. The Indian Premier League contract – a first for Nepal – has only added to his reputation, and now it’s time for him to shine on the biggest stage of his young career.

Squads **Zimbabwe:**Graeme Cremer (c), Tendai Chatara, Tendai Chisoro, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Blessing Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor (wk), Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams, Cephas Zhuwao.
Nepal: Paras Khadka (c), Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee (wk), Lalit Bhandari, Shakti Gauchan, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Gyanendra Malla, Dilip Nath, Rohit Kumar, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Anil Sah, Sompal Kami, Sharad Vesawkar.