Published: Mar 13, 2017, 07:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 13, 2017, 03:28 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to live cricket score and updates’ blog of Match No. 36 of ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Championship 2015-17 between Nepal and Kenya at Tribhuvan University (TU) International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur, Kathmandu. I am Shruti Hariharan, and I will be live-blogging on this contest. This will be a 50-over match and will be considered as List A match and not international. The ground of Kirtipur will host an ICC WCL Championship for the fourth time and has been quite lucky for Nepal as their two out of three wins have come at this venue. ALSO READ: Nepal vs Kenya, Preview
The matches are a part of the tournament which is being played in double round-robin format and has eight teams participating in it. At the moment, Nepal stand sixth in the ICC WCL standings with six points from three wins after playing nine matches. Kenya, on the other hand, are one spot ahead of Nepal in the standings with 10 points. They have won five and lost four matches. Standings notwithstanding, the two teams are likely to play some fiercely competitive cricket, as was visible in the first match.
Though Kenya won it by 5 wickets, it was much closer than what the scorecard suggests. Rain delayed the start of the match for long, even as the jam-packed TU ground waited for the sun to shine. Batting first, Nepal managed 112 runs on the board losing 8 wickets from the stipulated 36 overs. Under revised conditions, Kenya were required to chase down 94 in 26 overs. They got past the line in the 25th over, losing 5 wickets in the process. Nepal missed the services of their regular skipper and prolific batsman Paras Khadka, who was nursing a niggle.
They would want to have the inspirational captain back for the last game, which will help the home side put up a fight. Kenya may have more experience amongst their ranks, but the Nepal side matches them in terms of skill. In addition, with a bustling home crowd behind them, they will come back hard at the touring side. All in all, it seems to be an enthralling clash between both these teams at Kirtipur with the stadium filled with scores of energetic Nepal fans.
Squads:
Nepal: Paras Khadka (c), Dipendra Airee, Mahaboob Alam, Binod Bhandari (wk), Sunil Dhamala, Shakti Gauchan, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Gyanendra Malla, Sagar Pun, Basant Regini, Aarif Sheikh, Sharad Vesawkar,
Kenya: Rakep Patel (c), Dhiren Gondaria, Irfan Karim (wk), Karan Kaul, Pushpak Kerai, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Nelson Odhiambo, Lucas Oluoch, Elijah Otieno, Rushabhvardhan Patel, Gurdeep Singh.
Match Timings: (09:30 local | 03:45 GMT | 09:15 IST)
