Thank You - Nepali Cricket Team

How many of you guys are going to watch today's match??

Nepal's ICC T20 qualifiers fixtures

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015, which will be staged across eight Ireland and Scotland venues from 9 to 26 July.

The top six sides from the 18-day tournament during which 51 matches will be played, will join the 10 Full Members for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, which will be held from 11 March to 3 April 2016.

In the July tournament, Ireland will also aim to complete a hat-trick of titles after it won the March 2012 and November 2013 qualifiers, both times defeating Afghanistan in the final.

Afghanistan had taken the top honours in the February 2010 tournament, while Ireland and Netherlands shared the trophy in August 2009 in Belfast after the final was washed-out.

Both Ireland and Afghanistan are in different groups. Ireland is joined in Group A by Nepal, Hong Kong, Jersey Papua New Guinea (PNG), Namibia and United States of America (USA), while Pool B includes Canada, Netherlands, Scotland, Kenya, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) apart from Afghanistan.

The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007 was competed by Kenya and Scotland apart from the 10 Full Members, while Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland (replacing Zimbabwe) featured in the 2009 tournament in England. Ireland and Afghanistan filled in the two spots for the 2010 and 2012 events, before the ICC Board decided to increase the number of sides below the Test nations to six for the ICC World Twenty20 2014. The six sides that joined the 10 Full Members for the Bangladesh tournament were Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands and the UAE.

According to the format of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015, the sides that top the two groups will automatically qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, while the sides that finish second and third in each of the two groups will play cross-over matches with the two winners joining the table-toppers for the India tournament.

The losing sides of the two play-off matches will then play the fourth-placed sides from each of the two groups in cross-over matches with the winners completing the 16-team line-up for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016.

The fifth-sixth and third-fourth position play-offs as well as the final will be played on the last three days of the tournament based on which these teams’ seeding/groupings for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 will be confirmed.

Malahide in Dublin and The Grange in Edinburgh will be the two broadcast venues. However, broadcast details of the ICC Word Twenty20 2015 will be announced closer to the start of the tournament.

Certain venue/matches will be ticketed and these details will be announced in due course.

The two groups are:

Group A Group B
A1 – Ireland B1 - Afghanistan
A2 – Nepal B2 – UAE
A3 – Hong Kong B3 – Netherlands
A4 – PNG B4 – Scotland
A5 – Namibia B5 – Canada
A6 – USA B6 – Kenya
A7 – Jersey B7 – Oman
The schedule is:

Warm-up matches

Mon, 6 July (1000-1310) – Nepal v Oman, Stormont, Belfast; PNG v Kenya, Bready, Co. Tyrone; Scotland v Namibia, The Grange, Edinburgh; Netherlands v Hong Kong, Myreside, Edinburgh
Mon, 6 July (1415-1725) – Ireland v UAE, Stormont, Belfast; USA v local side, Bready, Co. Tyrone; Canada v local side, The Grange, Edinburgh; Afghanistan v Jersey, Myreside, Edinburgh
Tue, 7 July (1000-1310) – Nepal v UAE, Stormont, Belfast; local team v PNG, Bready, Co. Tyrone; Scotland v Jersey, Goldenacre, Edinburgh; local team v Netherlands, New Williamfield, Stirling
Tue, 7 July (1415-1725) – Ireland v Oman, Stormont, Belfast; Kenya v USA, Bready, Co. Tyrone; Canada v Namibia, Goldenacre, Edinburgh; Afghanistan v Hong Kong, New Williamfield, Stirling

Tournament matches

Thurs, 9 July – Scotland v UAE, The Grange, Edinburgh (1000-1310); Netherlands v Afghanistan, The Grange, Edinburgh (1415-1725)

Fri, 10 July – Ireland v Namibia, Stormont, Belfast (1000-1310); Canada v Kenya, Myreside, Edinburgh (1000-1310); Nepal

Preview: Both teams were handed chastening lessons by a Bangladesh unit desperate to prove that it should never have been in the qualifying pool in the first place. Both teams showed they were better equipped to handle the transition to the bright lights of the big stage than Hong Kong, the other Associate in their group. When Afghanistan take on Nepal on Thursday (March 20) they will not so much be playing each other, but challenging existing notions.

For Nepal, the major task at hand is to show that it can overcome the pitch at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. The surface began skiddy and pacy, and plays true for the best part, but when dew sets in, it changes dramatically. The odd ball has kept low for the spinners, and at the same time, quick men who are willing to bend their back have got inordinate bounce.

On the face of it, these conditions should suit Afghanistan perfectly, while taking the spin out of Nepal’s spin twins Bansant Regmi and Shakti Gauchan. It should help Afghanistan’s batsmen too, for they are the kind who prefer to block four balls and then launch two audacious sixes rather than motor along at a steady pace.

Sarad Vesawkar, who was impressive in Nepal’s defeat to Bangladesh, admitted that things were stacked against his team. “To be very honest, we’re not used to these kind of conditions – grassy wickets where the ball seams a bit and skids on,” said Vesawkar, who adapted quite beautifully to make a polished 40 against Bangladesh. “Back home we play mostly on dead tracks. We had to adjust and maybe it was difficult initially.”

Afghanistan will be hoping to make life difficult in exactly this manner for Nepal. In Shapoor Zadran, the long-haired left-armer with a whippy action, and Dawlat Zadran, the right-armer who lopes in leisurely and lets rip with a strong shoulder, Afghanistan has two quick men who can trouble the best batsmen in the world. Kabir Khan, the former Pakistani left-arm medium pacer who now coaches Afghanistan, was so convinced of his team’s strength that he believed it was no coincidence that a slow pitch was served up in its opening game in Mirpur. “We have good-quality fast bowlers, we train them like that, they are aggressive and everybody knows that our fast-bowling attack is very good, especially at Associate standard and sometimes at Test standard,” said Kabir. “In the Asia Cup, the bowling was very good all throughout and I think that’s why the Mirpur wicket was a bit slow.”

In their final match, Afghanistan will have no such concerns, a neutral game meaning that the curators at Chittagong have no incentive to maximise home advantage. “Every match is important and we want to win, obviously now we are in a position to plan to win with big margins. Cricket is a funny game and we are expecting a one percent chance of anybody beating Bangladesh here,” said Kabir. “But if Hong Kong beats Bangladesh, we have to keep our chances alive, at least the run rate should be higher and if that happens and our run rate is there, then we could qualify.”

While all cricketing arguments point to Afghanistan over Nepal, the one thing that is hard to argue with is the never-say-die brand of cricket the men from the mountains have played. According to Vesawkar, this is no accident. “We’re all born and brought up in Nepal and know each other very well having played together from age-group cricket. Unlike some other teams, we don’t have any expats playing for us. That ensures that we have very good team spirit,” he said. “We’re Nepali and proud to play for Nepal. We’re amateur cricketers with limited facilities, so to be able to come here and give our best is something to be proud of.”

There is another point to prove here for Nepal, which perhaps knows Afghanistan better than anyone else in cricket circles. “We know them, how they play, and they know us in the same way. We play hard on the field, but when we meet at the hotel we’re in each other’s rooms all the time. We are good friends off the field,” said Vesawkar. “We always like to play against Afghanistan. In 2008 we were neck and neck, but they suddenly rose to the occasion and we were left behind a little bit. We tried to catch up and hopefully we can do well against them.”

Afghanistan, as its captain Mohammad Nabi said a couple of days ago, wants to prove its supremacy among Associate teams. Nepal would like to believe that it has caught up, and this is its time. How can this not make for compelling viewing?

world t20 2014...fixtures of Nepal

16 Sun ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Bangladesh v Afghanistan at Dhaka, 1st Match, Group A
ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Hong Kong v Nepal at Chittagong, 2nd Match, Group A
17 Mon ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Ireland v Zimbabwe at Sylhet, 3rd Match, Group B
ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Netherlands v United Arab Emirates at Sylhet, 4th
Match, Group B
18 Tue ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Afghanistan v Hong Kong at Chittagong, 5th Match,
Group A
ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Bangladesh v Nepal at Chittagong, 6th Match, Group A
19 Wed ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Netherlands v Zimbabwe at Sylhet, 7th Match, Group B
ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Ireland v United Arab Emirates at Sylhet, 8th Match,
Group B
20 Thu ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Afghanistan v Nepal at Chittagong, 9th Match, Group A
ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14
Bangladesh v Hong Kong at Chittagong, 10th Match,
Group A

UAE v Nepal, ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, Abu Dhabi
Vesawkar leads Nepal to third-place finish
ESPNcricinfo staff
November 30, 2013

Nepal 133 for 5 (Vesawkar 43*) beat UAE 131 for 5
(Regmi 4-16) by five wickets

Nepal capped a fabulous run at the World Twenty20
Qualifier by securing another last-over win to finish
third. As against Hong Kong, when Nepal claimed
their place at next year's World Twenty20, and during
the group-stage win over Kenya, Sharad Vesawkar
proved nerveless at the death, hitting Shadeep Silva -
whose initial three overs had cost just 10 runs - for
consecutive sixes and sealing a five-wicket victory
over UAE with four balls to spare.
Nepal had appeared to be in control of the run chase,
with Vesawkar and opener Subash Khakurel settled at
the crease and 38 runs required from the final five
overs. Khakurel fell shortly after and when Binod
Bhandari became the fifth wicket down three balls
later, UAE had their window of opportunity. It was
quickly slammed shut. Vesawkar had progressed
steadily to 23 from 21 deliveries but, with the asking
rate up to 11 an over, he struck three sixes and Anil
Mandal two fours to seal the result.
UAE had been tied down throughout their innings,
unable to build any significant partnerships. At 70 for
4 in the 13th over, they were struggling to remain
competitive, before Shaiman Anwar provided some
impetus with a quickfire 24 from 16 balls. Anwar
became Basant Regmi's fourth wicket with the score
on 101 but Swapnil Patel and Mohammad Shafiq
added another 30 to give their bowlers something to
defend.

Ireland 225/7 (20/20 ov)
Afghanistan 50/1 (4.4/20 ov)
Afghanistan require another 176 runs with 9 wickets and
15.2 overs remaining

Nepal fans celebrate their team's victory, UAE v Nepal,
ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers, 3rd place play-off, Abu
Dhabi, November 30, 2013 ©ICC/Getty

Nepal does a Houdini again. How do they manage to do
it time and over again? That said, the generous fielding
by UAE was a big reason for Nepal overhauling the
target. They will be very happy with the third place.
Join us for the final in about forty five minutes from
now
19.2 Silva to Vesawkar, SIX , Vesawkar does it again! He lofts
Silva straight over his head for a six. Silva concedes 12
runs in two balls, 2 more than what he conceded in
three overs
19.1 Silva to Vesawkar, SIX , short ball outside the off stump.
Vesawkar pulls it to mid-on for a huge six

United Arab Emirates 131/5 (20/20 ov)
Nepal 133/5 (19.2/20 ov)
Nepal won by 5 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)

NEPAL WON THE TOSS TO FIELD FIRST.

ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 71st Match, 3rd place
play-off: United Arab Emirates v Nepal at Abu Dhabi,
Nov 30, 2013