On Tuesday, Nepal plays Bahrain at the BSAM Ground and the next day, it meets Fiji at the TU Ground. Both Bahrain and Fiji have lost their two opening matches and already facing the danger of elimination.[break]
Bahrain lost to Singapore and USA while Fiji lost to USA and Jersey. Fiji, one of the teams with all indigenous players, is suffering hard because of injury and attitude of Kathmandu.
Bahrain, who looked helpless against Singapore on the opening day in their 126-run defeat, did a spirited chase of USA´s 273 to lose just by 19 runs.
This should send an alarm to Nepal about the batting capabilities of a known opponent. Nepal has played Bahrain at various levels and forms of the games over the past few years and never lost.
The last meeting in one-dayers was in 2006 ACC Trophy when Nepal beat them by 25 runs after scoring 200. Basant Regmi, who won the man of the match title against Singapore for his all-round performance, was man of the match then also.
More recently, the two teams have met in 2008 ACC Twenty20 Elite Cup in which Nepal registered a seven-wicket victory. Captain Paras Khadka was named man of the match while Gyanendra Malla and Dipendra Chaudhary also batted well.
“We are pretty confident [of our strength],” Paras said. “But we can´t be complacent against Bahrain. They may have lost two matches but there is every chance they can make a comeback.”
After two wins, Paras still felt that there was a lot to improve. “We still have a long way to go and a lot to improve,” he said after the narrow 16-run victory over Singapore. “We would certainly like to bat better.”
Bowling-wise Nepal looked as good as it should be in two matches with spinners dominating the proceedings and pacers providing the early support. In batting, the openers are yet to establish a partnership. Mehboob Alam and Dipendra Chaudhary both have failed so far -- as pair and as a batsman.
Sanjam Regmi is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with six wickets and will remain crucial in the upcoming matches along with other spinners.
Bahrain, for whom the loss against Nepal means out of contention, wants to stay. “We still have another three matches and a 50-50 chance of qualifying,” coach Mohsin Kamal said. “We just need to win our last three matches and we will try our best.”
Bahrain will be largely looking at Imran Sajjad and Adil Hanif for batting as they have good performance in previous games. Zafar Zaheer, who has so far taken five wickets, will be key in Bahrain´s bowling line up.
At the IOE Ground, Singapore takes on Fiji while USA plays Jersey at the TU Ground.
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