Gyanendra Malla, vice captain of Nepali Cricket Team is one of the finest batsman Nepal has produced. Coming into the scene later than most of the players in the team now he is precious asset to the team. Outside the field he sweeps people with his humbleness.
Debut and Initial Days
Gyanendra represented Nepal for the first time in U-15 Cricket playing ACC U-15 Tournament in 2005 in UAE. HE debuted for Nepal playing against Qatar U-15. Gyanendra contributed with 17* of 14 balls as Nepal chased the 69 run target put up by Qatar!
Gyanendra got his first Man of the Match for Nepal in the semi final of ACC U-15 Cup in 2005 against UAE. He scored 73 of 84 balls as Nepal posted 210 runs in 40 overs. UAE were folded for just 70 runs, Gyanendra contributed with the ball as well with 2 wickets!
U-19 World Cups
Gyanendra featured in 2 U-19 World Cups in 2006 and 2008 featuring in total of 12 matches.
In 2006 Gyanendra played important role in Nepal’s Plate Championship conquest scoring 64 against Uganda in QF and 46* against South Africa in Semi Finals of Plate Championships. He was the third highest run getter for Nepal after Kaniska Chaugain and Sharad Vesawkar in the tournament.
U-19 World Cup 2008 was probably the worst outing for Gyanendra as he utterly failed with the bat getting just 31 runs in 6 matches.
Climbing to the Senior Side
Debuting for U-15 in 2005(April) he climbed fast and played U-17 and U-19 ACC Trophy the same year. After just a year of U-15 debut he played for Nepali Senior side that too first class match against Namibia in March of 2006.
Playing for Nepali Senior side just a year after his U-15 Debut his career took accelerated when Pakistani Cricket Academy toured Nepal. Gyanendra then was the one of the inexperienced players in the side but at the end of the tournament he was the most successful one. when most of Nepali Batsmen struggled against Pakistani Bowling he scored 21, 22 and 78 in three matches.
Batting Style
There are three distinct ways in which Gyanendra bats.
1.Player for Pressure
In matches where Nepal’s batting is failing he stands up like a wall, soaks pressure and guides Nepal to respectable total with slow and steady run scoring. His match winning 34 against Uganda was innings of such kind. His 38 of 39 balls against Hong Kong is another inning of similar quality.
2.The Perfect Middle Order Batsman
In the middle of a 50 over innings every team requires a batsman who can stay in the wicket for long time and build an innings with singles and doubles and give strike to hard hitters. Gyanendra has been doing that job perfectly. Since he is usually not the aggressor he usually goes unnoticed for his efforts.
His 34 of 60 balls against Malaysia in Semi Final of ACC Elite Cup where he mostly rotated the strike to Paras who made 89 is perfect example of innings of such kind. The duo added 112 runs in 22 overs. He played a similar innings of 31 runs in the final of the event.
3.The Unlikely Aggressor
Gyanendra knows when he needs to put his foot on the accelerator. In SAARC U-25 Twenty20 Cup Malla won Nepal a match from very unlikely position against India(KIC).Nepal were chasing 219.When Malla came into bat Nepal were 106-4 and needed 100+ runs in less than 8 overs. He thrashed the Indian Bowlers all around the Park for as many as 9 sixes and ended up with 67* of 21 balls and got Nepal home. (unbelievable strike rate of 319). This was the first glimpse of his hard hitting abilities.
Many thought it was just one rare case. But he has done this more often the past year. 61 of 23 balls against Saudi Arabia ACC Elite Cup, 30 of 11 balls against Singapore in ACC T20 Cup, 34* of 20 balls against Bermuda and 10 of 2 balls against Italy in Division 3 are examples of such innings.
Recent Form
ICC WCL Division 4 : September 2012
178 runs in 6 matches(5 innings) with AVG: 44.50 top score of 66 against USA in the Final.
ACC Elite Cup :October 2013
212 runs in 6 matches with 2 half Centuries and AVG:42.4 runs. His top score of 61* (23) earned him man of the match.
ACC T20 : April 2013
102 run in 6 matches. AVG: 20.1 runs. Highest score of 38(39) balls against Hong Kong.
ICC WCL Division 3 : May 2013
102 runs in 6 matches. AVG 25.5 runs. Top score of 34*(20) against Bermuda. His steady 34(49) runs against Oman won him Player of the Match
ACC Emerging Team Cup: August 2013
52 runs in 3 matches. AVG : 17. 33 runs. Top score of 24 runs against Afghanistan
