Inconsistent top order haunts Nepal

Kathmandu, Sept. 20: Opener Kushal Bhurtel and all-rounders Kushal Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee were not included in the squad against Oman on Wednesday. They were replaced by Arjun Saud, Aarif Sheikh and Anil Kumar Sah respectively.

The Nepali men’s cricket team was criticised for not bringing newness to the squad as the same team was performing poorly in a continuous fashion. From clean sweeping a 3-match OD series against Canada in February this year, Nepal lost to the same team, with three changes, by 103 runs on September 17.

However, despite three changes against Oman, Nepal failed to secure a victory as Oman won by 1 wicket with one ball remaining. And the common aspect of the loss of Wednesday and the latest ones before it was a poor start from the openers.

Despite batting or bowling first, Nepal’s openers as well as the top order have been unable to build a steady partnership and set a tone for the middle and bottom orders. Moreover, there has not been a balanced lineup in the batting order as bottom-order batsmen are sent up the order now and then.

Since the inaugural tri-series of the CWC League 2 (2024-2027) between Nepal, Namibia and the Netherlands, Nepal have played six ODIs in total until the confrontation with Oman on September 18. But the top-order has not been able to fulfil their responsibilities in those matches. Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh, the main opening duo of the Nepali team, have been consistent in starting the batting for the team in ODIs alongside T20Is. However, the duo’s performance in ODIs and T20Is has not been up to the mark. 

Bhurtel returned for a duck and Aasif scored 4 runs against Namibia in the first ODI of the League on February 15. Aasif was able to hold his ground and be consistent in the next matches, but Bhurtel did not. Bhurtel’s 66-run against the Dutch side on February 25 is his best score this year. Aasif was able to score two half-centuries on February 17 and 21 against Namibia and Netherlands respectively.

After the tri-series in Kirtipur in February, Nepal was busy with T20Is. Except for unofficial T20s, Nepal played around a dozen official T2oIs until June. Bhurtel and Aasif opened for Nepal in those 11 T20Is, but only one individual half-century, by Aasif, was recorded. Moreover, Bhurtel, from April 17-20, was on a streak of ducks during the ACC Men’s Premier Cup in Al Amerat.

Capable openers

Cricket’s greatest of all times, Sachin Tendulkar, in his autobiography ‘Playing It My Way’, states several occasions where a proper start from the top order was very crucial for the team. 

A quality start from the openers takes away the pressure from the middle and bottom orders and allows them to play freely. 

While Nepal’s openers have failed to give a proper start currently, their abilities cannot be foreshadowed. Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh have had quality partnerships in the past.

The duo, in the first wicket partnership, had made 171 runs together in Harare in June 2023; the opponent was Zimbabwe. It is the second-highest partnership for Nepal in ODIs, the first being the not-out partnership of 189 runs between Bhim Sharki and Anil Kumar Sah against Canada in February 2024.

Bhurtel and Aasif have three first-wicket partnerships of over 100 runs scored between June 2022 to June 2023.

On Wednesday, patience by the openers from Oman was crucial in the chase that lasted until the 50 overs as they gave a decent start for the whole team. Kashyap Prajapati and Jatinder Singh added 36 off 52 and 41 off 49 for Oman. Moreover, the contribution of 29 off 33 and 26 off 36 by in-at-three and four batsmen Aquib Ilyas and Pratik Athavale respectively was also beneficial. 

However, of the three all-rounders replaced by Nepal, only one all-rounder, Aarif Sheikh, was included in the squad. The replacements suggested that Nepal was looking for designated batters rather than all-rounders in the middle so that the batsmen would only have batting pressure, not bowling.

The changes were fruitful against Oman as the middle and bottom orders saved the team from a devastating end. Arjun, Aasif and Bhim departed for 5, 11 and 11 runs respectively leading captain Rohit Kumar Paudel and Aarif to establish a decent partnership for the fourth wicket.

From 31/3 in 13.1 overs, Rohit and Aarif took Nepal to 114/4 in 36.3 overs. Aarif’s departure in 35 runs left him at 999 runs in ODIs; Rohit played a captain’s knock scoring 60 off 72.

The target of over 200 runs, which looked far more difficult in the beginning, was realised after Gulshan Jha hammered 53 off 35 with five sixes and three fours. 

Furthermore, Jha took a fifer with the ball which led Oman to win the match by the barest of margins. Jha was the player of the match against Oman despite Nepal losing.

Comeback in next round?

The second round of the tri-series between Nepal, Canada and Oman starts on September 22 as Nepal and Canada face each other in the second match of the tri-series played in a double round-robin format. 

Nepal will play their second match against Oman on September 29.

With one win in six matches, Nepal stands at the second-last position in the points table of the League amongst eight teams. If able to win the next two matches, Nepal can climb to the sixth position; Oman needs to lose their match against Canada for it to happen.

Nepal needs to make a comeback in the next two matches because the upcoming tri-series is more difficult. Nepal is playing a tri-series of League 2 with the USA and Scotland from October 27.

Scotland and the USA are positioned third and fourth in the points table.