Nepal is a tournament favorite as it had defeated the USA in the league round and the final of Division 4 last year and has good One-Day records against other teams like Oman and Italy.[break]
The Sunday´s match would be the ninth encounter between Nepal and the USA in One-Day format. Nepal has a superior head-to-head record against the USA. Of the eight matches played so far, Nepal has won four and lost two. Two matches were washed out.
However, the inclusion of West Indies players in the USA team always makes it one of the strongest sides in any tournament featuring ICC associate nations.
"Since they had lost the last two matches against us in Division 4 and we are in the best shape, the pressure should be on them," said Nepali team coach Pubudu Dassanayake before flying to Bermuda.
The USA has included Neil Mcgarrell, who had played four Test matches for the West Indies in 2001. Mcgarrell, 40, also played 17 One-Day International matches for the West Indies.
"We have heard about some West Indians in the USA squad and one of them had even played Tests. However, we don´t know about their qualities," said Dassanayake.
The USA had defeated Uganda by 186 runs in a practice match on Wednesday while Nepal´s practice match against Bermuda XI was washed out due to rain. USA captain Steve Massiah had scored a ton against Uganda during the practice match.
Meanwhile, Sushil Nadkarni, who has scored 272 runs in six matches against Nepal with an average of 64, could be another hurdle for Nepal on Sunday.
However, the slow and spinning wicket of Bermuda could help Nepali spinners restrict the USA batsmen, as spin bowling is Nepal´s biggest strength. Left-arm spinner Rahul Vishwakarma, who had claimed seven wickets against the USA in the final of Division 5 held in Kathmandu in 2010, could be included in the playing 11 for the USA match.
Nepal is yet to decide the playing set to face the USA. However, it is almost certain that the Nepali team will have a single slot for pace attack and either Amrit Bhattarai or Chandra Saud will be rested.
For coach Pubudu Dassanayake, picking the middle-order would be a tough task as Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Vesawkar, Binod Bhandari, Prithu Baskota and Pradeep Airee are all batting well in recent times.
Subash Khakurel and Anil Mandal could open the innings for the Nepali team captained by Paras Khadka.
"We are a balanced team with confidence and experience. We will win the tournament if we play to only 80 percent of our potential during the tournament," said Dassanayake.
Nepali team is high on confidence going into the Division 3 tournament as it won the ACC Trophy and reached the final of the recently concluded ACC T20 Cup, where it was defeated by Afghanistan.
Nepal has won its previous three encounters against Italy and two against Oman. Likewise, Nepal had defeated Bermuda in the World T20 Qualifiers last year. On the other hand, Nepal will face Uganda for the first time during the tournament.
The top two sides of WCL Division 3 will progress to the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers, which will be held in New Zealand in early 2014 among 10 of the leading Associate and Affiliate teams. The top two sides of the qualifiers will then advance to the 14-team ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, where they will join the 10 Test nations.
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