Kathmandu – Nepal faces pre-tournament favourites Netherlands in the second match of ICC World Cricket League Division 2, 2015 at the United Cricket Club Ground, Windhoek, Namibia. The match starts from 13:15 NST.
It will be an important match for both the teams as tournament favourites Netherlands looks to continue their winning run after having defeated Canada by 67 runs in the first match while Nepal will be hoping to bounce back after a disappointing 2 runs loss at the hands of Uganda.
In the context of Nepal, this is a must win game for them, if they are targeting a top finish. But, saying that, they have to face Netherlands who have been playing ” aggressive brand” of cricket since a long time, which, I believe, is the one of the reason behind Netherland’s success against test- countries in the past few years.
Nepal encounters the likes of Stephen Myburgh, Wasely Barresi, Peter Borren, and Ben Borren, all of whom have been playing fine cricket for Netherlands over last few years- and the first of two holds the capacity to hit the ball well out of the ground. Wasley Barresi proved his point with a blistering knock of 83 runs from 61 balls against Canada in the first match.
Nepal, meanwhile, have been playing a “patchy brand” of cricket against strong nations, assuring their unpredictability nature against those teams including one against Uganda in the first match. Nepal’s so called strong middle order should learn from their mistakes and reply strong against Netherlands this time. Apart from Subash Khakurel’s 32 runs and Gyanendra Malla’s 34 runs, none other batting scores was worth remembrance on Sunday’s match against Uganda.
Nepal should also address their vulnerability of the opening pair. Either, one of the liar should be directed for a quick start or one should certainly be changed by a aggressive batsman from the squad.
Netherlands possess a strong bowling line up with youngsters Vivian Kingma and Paul Van Meekeran shouldering the responsibilities. The former was phenomenal in the first match destroying Canada’s top order, picking four wickets while the latter was economical. Nepal’s bowing was equally good against Uaganda in the first match restricting them for a paltry 146 runs. So, there shouldn’t be much worries in the bowling for Nepal.
Today’s match will be a clash between “Patchy vs Aggressive” brand of cricket and one can expect aggressive to win the match until any miracle from the patchy side.
Probable XI
Nepal: Binod Bhandari, Subash Khakurel, Gyanendra Malla, Paras Khadka, Aarif Sheikh, Sharad Vesawkar, Basant Regmi, Sagar Pun, Shakti Gauchan, Sompal Kami, Karan KC
Netherlands
W Barresi, PW Borren , Mudassar Bukhari, MJG Rippon, PM Seelaar, MAA Jamil, PA van Meekeren, MR Swart, ES Szwarczynsk, BN Cooper, Vivian Kingma.
Head to Head
In T20s
Netherlands 2 Nepal 0
In ODI
Netherlands 1 Nepal 0
Stats
• Paras Khadka is 23 runs short of making 1000 runs in ICC WCL tournaments.
• Basanta Regmi needs two more wickets to be the first player in the history of ICC WCL tournaments to take 100 wickets.
