Nepali batsmen are under pressure to deliver as they take on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a crunch match of the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 at the United Cricket Club Ground in Windhoek, Namibia on Sunday. 

Nepal had opened the tournament with a slim one-wicket victory over hosts Namibia. But after losing to Oman, who have made into the tournament finishing at the top of Division 3, the team is under pressure to get back to winning ways if they are to secure the top two spot of the tournament that guarantees two spots in next month’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

Nepali batting has looked dismal in Namibia so far as it took them 49.2 overs to reach a target of 139 against the hosts on Thursday. The poor batting display continued for the second day in a row after Nepal crawled to reach 138 in 46 overs against Oman on Friday before losing the match by six wickets with the latter reaching target in just 35.1 overs.

Sharad Vesawkar so far is the highest individual scorer in the Nepali camp that is yet to see a half century from their batsmen. The onus will be on experience duo of skipper Paras Khadka and his deputy Gyanendra Malla who have failed to put enough scores on the board.

UAE had gotten their Division 2 campaign off to a solid start after they hammered Kenya by 218 runs posting a tournament-high 309-8 on the first day. However, they were left stunned when Canada edged them by 23 runs. Canada now lead the standings with four points from two games leaving the tournament wide open.

Nepal’s last victory against the UAE in the 50-over tournament came during the 2014 ACC Premier League in Malaysia. But since then, UAE have shuffled their squad brining in new faces which have begun to bear fruit. UAE had humbled Nepal by both their matches in the ICC World Cricket League Championship and their team currently looks promising with both bat and ball. 

To defeat a side that has been playing a good allround cricket, Nepal must come up with their best. Nepal are currently in the third spot of the standings with two points from two games and a victory over UAE can help them gain an advantage with tough ties against Kenya and Canada coming in. 

Nepal will be expected to make at least one change in their batting line up and Aarif Sheikh, who has not been coming up with the best from his bat in the last few innings, could be on the firing line. Sheikh can make way for Anil Sah as the U-19 allrounder is itching to make his debut for the senior side. 

The key for Nepal will once again will be their bowling attack, particularly spinners, who have managed to tighten the screws over the opponent batsmen. Karan KC could be expected to be a change in the bowling department but since the right arm medium pacer has not leaked many runs in the first two games, the team can give a second thought over his status.

 

Team P W L NR Pts NRR

Canada 2 2 0 0 4 1.907

UAE 2 1 1 0 2 1.950

Nepal 2 1 1 0 2 -0.464

Oman 2 1 1 0 2 -0.869

Namibia 2 0 0 1 1 -0.058

Kenya 2 0 0 1 1 -4.360