Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has decided to honor Nepali Cricket team members with cash prize Rs 150,000 each for their glorious victory over Hong Kong and Afghanistan in the ICC World T20, held in Bangladesh.

Talking to Republica Online, CAN President Tanka Angbuhang, said that the Nepali cricket players, coach and phisio will be awarded with the cash prize.
After making glorious victory in the World Twenty20 cricket tournament held in Bangladesh, Nepali National Cricket Team returned home on Friday.

Minister for Youth and Sports Purusottam Poudel, National Sports Council Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama and Cricket Association of Nepal President Tanka Angbuhang among others welcomed the team at the International Airport at 2 pm.

Nepal wrapped up its maiden ICC World T20 campaign on a high note defeating arch rival Afghanistan by nine runs on Thursday at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong for its first win over the Afghans in a decade.

The second victory in the group stage, however, could not secure Nepal a place in the Super 10 round as Bangladesh progressed despite losing to Hong Kong by two wickets in the group’s final match held at the same venue in the evening. Hong Kong had to win the match in less than 13.2 overs for Nepal to qualify for the next round as the group winner. But Hong Kong met the target with only two balls to spare after bowling Bangladesh out for 108 runs.

Nepal was pitted against host Bangladesh, the only Test-playing nation in the group, Afghanistan and Hong Kong in Group A.

The victory also avenged Nepal’s twin defeats in November, 2013 during the World T20 Qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates. Nepal had not beaten Afghanistan in any format of the game after the 2004 ACC Trophy.

On Thursday, put into bat first after losing the toss, Nepal posted a 142-run target and restricted Afghanistan to 132/8. The 76-run stand for the fourth wicket between opener Subash Khakurel (56 off 53) and Sharad Vesawkar (37 off 32), Gyanendra’s quick-fire 22 of 13, tight bowling and fielding were key to Nepal’s victory.

“Afghanistan is a good team and we had to take every chance to beat them. We capitalized on some key moments to win the match,” Nepal’s skipper Paras Khadka said at the post-match press conference. Describing the victory as an achievement, he said, “This is the first time we qualified for the World T20 and won two games. This itself is an achievement. However, the real journey begins now. We just can’t remain complacent after qualifying for one World Cup.”

Subash also became the first Nepali player to score a half-century in the ICC global event. Earlier, vice-captain Gyanendra’s 48 runs against Hong Kong was the highest score by a Nepali batsman in the team’s maiden World T20. Subash reached his 50 in 48 balls. He blasted four boundaries and a six in his innings. Vesawkar, the second-highest scorer, smashed five boundaries.

“We gave our best, I think everybody contributed very well. Jeetendra Mukhiya bowled exceptionally well. It was a great team performance. Subash Khakurel, Sharad Vesawkar and Gyanendra batted very well. When you have to beat a good team, you have to play good cricket, and we did that today,” said Paras.

KATHMANDU, FEB 25 - Defending champions Three Star Club’s hopes of retaining the Martyrs Memorial Red Bull A Division League title are all but over after playing out a goalless draw in their penultimate match against Sankata Club here at the Dashrath Stadium on Monday.

Despite dominating possession, Three Star struggled to break down a sturdy Sankata defence as custodian Pierre Herve remained fairly untroubled throughout the game. The draw keeps Three Star in third position with 29 points from 16 games while leaders Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) are on 32 points with a game in hand. Machhindra Football Club (MFC) are second on 31. MMC can clinch the league title with a game to spare if they defeat Nepal Police Club in their penultimate game on Tuesday.

“I think it is fair to say that our chances of winning the title are over. Now it is important that we win our remaining fixture against MMC and end the season on a positive note,” said Three Star coach Anjan KC. Prakash Budhathoki squandered a golden opportunity to put Three Star ahead when he headed a left wing Jagajeet cross wide in the 24th minute.

Earlier, Sankata defender Ibrahim Obusola did brilliantly to clear Jagajeet’s swirling cross from the left before even forward Santosh Sahukhala could get his feet to the ball inside the area in the 15th minute. Three Star wasted another opportunity when an unmarked Yogesh Gurung missed a close-range header on Biraj Maharjan’s cross in the 38th minute.

“The first half showed what we have been lacking throughout the league. We dominated possession but our forwards just could not get the ball into the net,” said Three Star coach KC. The pattern of play remained similar after the interval with Three Star dominating possession in midfield but struggling to penetrate Sankata backline.

Bishnu Gurung’s 30-yard shot went over the cross bar off Sankata defender Obusola in the 79th minute while Kalu Thapa cleared Jagajeet’s curling corner off the goalline a minute later. Nirajan Khadka added to Three Star’s list of wasted chances when he glanced his close-range header on Jagajeet’s cross wide two minutes from time.

“Our forwards have been disappointing throughout the season. Even though we have created scoring opportunities in all of our games, our finishing has cost us heavy,” added Three Star coach KC. Sankata coach Raju Kaji Shakya said his side were fortunate to take a point from the game.

“Considering the amount of possession Three Star had, we were lucky to even earn a point,” said Shakya. “We have had a good season but we need to improve offensively if we are to finish higher in the table next year,” added Shakya.

Nepal won their first Group ‘A’ match of ICC World Twenty20 Cup against Hong Kong by huge margin of 80 runs.This is the first match of Nepali cricket team on ICC T20 World Cup which they won against Hong Kong held at Zahur Ahmed Chawdhury Stadium in Chittagong, Bangladesh.Being sent in to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal set a 150-run target against Hong Kong losing eight wickets in allotted 20 overs.

After this match Nepal government is encouraged to put the special investment in the Nepali cricket field. Shakti Gauchan who was awarded Man of the Match is a wonderful player of Nepali team. Some of the Indian Media say that Shakti Gauchan was born in India. This has put Gautam’s family in stressed. Gautam’s father expresees his dissatisfaction in the video below.All Nepalis should speak up against this kind of fake news brought up by India media which defame our prestige. However, Indian media didn’t mean that Nepali cricketers were born in India but one of the popular Indian news websites,Bhaskar Daily, has stated that Nepali cricketers name resemble the Indian names. Parash, Shakti, Sharad, Gyanendra sound like Indian names and that made up a big fake story to spread in the social media.

CHITTAGONG, MAR 17 -
Nothing succeeds like success. People who were indifferent to Team Nepal until a week ago have started taking keen interest in Nepal’s cricket history after they thrashed Hong Kong in World Cup debut on Sunday.

No one is happier about that than the Nepali skipper Paras Khadka himself. “We are playing the World Cup for the first time and making a good start to the dream tournament has boosted the morale of the team,” said Khadka, after their 80-run win over Hong Kong.

Khadka had told the pre-tournament press conference that Nepal were there to showcase their talent to the global audience.

Hardly anyone might have taken him seriously at the time, but it all changed overnight following Nepal’s clinical performance on Sunday. It has not only shot up interest back home but also in Bangladesh.

Local media have given a wide coverage to Nepal after  what they observed both on the field and off it. The huge presence of Nepal supporters at the stadium also forced the local people to give due attention to the otherwise little known cricket team of Nepal.

Dainik Samakalin, Paribartan online and some television channels had even run special stories on the Nepali cricket team.

The locals, who seemed unaware of the Nepali cricket team before Sunday’s match, have now started taking keen interest in the team. “I watched the Nepal-Hong Kong match and was cheering for Nepal,” said Rabib Ahmed, a shopkeeper in Chittagong. “They played very well.”

People are now starting to dig in information on the Nepali team. A large crowd that gathered at the Basantapur Durbar Square to watch the match live on televison has also become a topic of discussion for the Bangladeshis.

Many expressed disbelief that the Nepal skipper Khadka had been offered to play in the Bangladesh Premier League. While Khadka has been a crowd favourite, the victory has also brought overnight fame to Shakti Gauchan and Gyanendra Malla.

“Gauchan is a very good bowler,” remarked Irfan Islam, 25 year old student. “I was rooting for Nepal yesterday as it is another team from South Asia.”

Nepal will have to do away with support of the Bangladeshis when they take on the hosts on Tuesday. It would be too much to ask for the World Cup debutant to upset the Test-playing nation who start as the firm favourites in the match. But a strong performance even if it ends in a loss should be considered a satisfying outcome. 

KATHMANDU, MAR 18 - Bangladesh lost a couple of wickets in pursuit of a modest total of 127 runs to win against Nepal in a match being played at the ZAC Stadium in Chittagong on Tuesday.

They are however cruising along victory as they have made 79 runs for the loss of two wickets in 10 overs. Nepal i spinner Basanta Regmi took the wicket of Tamim Iqbal who was dismissed for 30 runs in 22 balls.

Anamul Haque was run out for 42 runs.

Nepal i batsmen shined in patches but could not amass a challenging total as they were restricted for 126 runs in the allotted 20 overs against hosts Bangladesh in a crucial match of their ICC World Twenty20 campaign at the ZAC Stadium in Chittagong on Tuesday.

Bangladesh won the toss and invited Nepal to bat first. Nepal i skipper Paras Khadka top scored for Nepal scoring 41 runs while fellow batsman Sharad Vesawkar scored important 40 runs.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh have started their innings and have progressed to 60 runs in seven overs without losing a wicket.

Other Nepal i batsmen could not quite capitalise on the start they got. Nepal i openers had earlier made a sedate start scoring 19 runs before opener Subash Khakurel was dismissed for 8 off 13 balls. Vice captain Gyanendra Malla then joined Sagar Pun in the field.

Opener Sagar Pun was dismissed in the sixth while Vice captain Malla was dismissed for 13 runs (6 balls) in the seventh over.

Nepal i bowlers will have their work cut out as they face the task of restricting Bangladesh within 126 runs. The result of today's game could later decide the teams fate in the competition.

The winner of today's game will be confident of making it to the next round, also the main draw of the tournament, when they will play against other Test-playing nations.

Nepal are making their maiden appearance in a cricket World Cup in less than 18 years when they first started representing the Himalayan nation in the international matches.

The two teams have played each other previously but it was before Bangladesh acquired the Test status. They locked horns in 1996 -- the year Nepal became the ACC Associate member. In the ACC Trophy held in Kathmandu that year Nepal lost against Bangladesh , also an associate member back then, under parabola method in a rain-affected match.

2014-03-14,Kathmandu: - Winger Sujal Shrestha netted a hat-trick as newly crowned league champions Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) hammered Nepal Police Club (NPC) 5-0 to storm into the 12th Aaha Rara Cup final here on Thursday.

Sujal scored twice within the first 20 minutes of the game and completed his hat-trick fifteen minutes after the hour mark while forwards Anil Gurung and Yona Elias also joined in the goal-scoring spree. MMC will now square off against hosts Sahara Football Club on Saturday.

NPC, who have won the tournament for a record five times were stunned early in the game after Sujal fired MMC to a 2-0 lead with barely 18 minutes on the clock. The winger opened the scoring when his curling freekick from the edge of the area nestled into the back of the net, going past the outstretched glove of NPC custodian Ritesh Thapa in the 10th minute. Sujal doubled MMC’s lead from the penalty spot after Elias’s drilled effort on goal struck the arm of NPC defender Suman Subedi eight minutes later.

The influential Sujal then turned provider two minutes after the half-hour mark when his perfectly weighted cross was headed in by Gurung. Elias then guided Bishal Rai’s cross into the back of the net four minutes before the interval to end a one-sided first half. Sujal completed his hat-trick in brilliant fashion as he dribbled past two NPC defenders inside the area and coolly slotted the ball past the helpless NPC custodian Thapa 0 in the 75th minute.

MMC coach Hari Om Shrestha was delighted with his team’s incredible performance. “We had beaten NPC in the league so I was confident before the game. But I was not expecting such a wide margin of win. The players were outstanding offensively and performed exceptionally well,” said Shrestha.

MMC will now enter the pitch on Saturday looking to secure their fourth title here. “I am confident especially after today’s game. I am sure we can clinch the trophy if we played in the manner that we did today,” said Shrestha.

NPC coach Birat Krishna Shrestha expressed bitter disappointment with his players and pointed out that their poor start cost them dear. “We were poor defensively early on. They capitalised on our defensive errors scoring twice which made it really difficult for us to make a comeback,” said the NPC coach.

Source: Ekantipur

2014-03-17,Kathmandu: Just when Rob Raker, an American environment scientist-turned-film maker, gave up the idea that he could find his lost camera, more importantly photographs from his trip to the Bardiya National Park, he got an “unexpected” call from Nepal.

“Is this Rob, owner of a camera lost in Nepal?” asked Deepak Ojha, a senior Airport Terminal Services officer. Ojha went beyond his call of duty to track Raker down through a Google group, ktmktm.

Two months ago, Raker, a permanent resident of Boulder in Colorado, the US, had accidentally left behind his Canon 5D Mark III camera worth US $4,000 at the Tribhuvan International Airport on his way home.

“I could barely believe my ears,” Raker said in his email to the Post, “I immediately told my wife, who was also completely amazed that someone from Nepal was able to track me down in the US to let me know that the camera had been found.” Raker’s camera is just one of hundreds of belongings passengers leave behind at the international airport.

Every day, around a dozen complaints are registered at the Terminal Management Division (TMD) of the airport. Until now, however, the airport officials had not paid much attention to lost properties, apart from keeping a log of items found.

Passengers like Raker had to depend on the goodwill of officials like Ojha, who has helped a record number of travellers find their lost property. In order to help travellers find their lost items, TIA officials set up a permanent ‘passenger lost and found’ desk last week.

According to TMD chief Prem Nath Thakur, the new desk is different from the ‘baggage lost and found’ section that deals only with luggage of airlines. “The new desk deals with items lost in and around the TIA,” he said.

Passengers can enquire at the TIA hotline number, 4113163, for items lost at the airport. A facilitation committee comprising the TIA General Manager, Deputy Inspector General of Police and immigration and TMD chiefs has been formed to deal with complaints related to lost items. “The committee works as a focal point. Whoever finds any unattended items at the TIA will submit it to the committee. The committee will then take responsibility of handing the item over to its owner,” says Thakur, also the member secretary of the committee.

According to Thakur, the committee will immediately announce the found items and if nobody claims it, the facilitation committee will maintain a log and identify the owner.

Earlier, there was a lack of coordination among various departments at the TIA, creating confusion among passengers whether they should go to police, immigration officials or at the airlines to find out their lost items.

Thakur said the committee is also mulling over possibilities to collaborate with courier services to deliver items belongings to foreigners.

Source: Ekantipur