Sarraf stars as Nepal register victory over MCC

Kathmandu, November 4

Pawan Sarraf displayed allround performance as Nepal national team defeated Marylebone Cricket Club by five wickets in the 50-over match here at the Tribhuvan International Stadium today.

Batting first, the visitors were bowled out for 201 runs in 39.5 overs before the home team raced to 205-5 with more than 12 overs remaining. Pawan Sarraf and Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi shared eight wickets between them, while the former returned to shared 70-run partnership with Binod Bhandari, who scored an unbeaten half century, to complete the victory.

MCC made a flying start with openers Will Rhodes and Billy Godleman putting up 73 runs inside 11 overs. Both the batsmen completed their half centuries. Rhodes top scored with 54 off 71 balls that included five boundaries, while Godleman struck eight fours and two sixes in his 38-ball 52.

The MCC were heading towards huge score and were nicely placed at 162-2 at the halfway stage before Nepal returned back into the game claiming three wickets in the space of five runs. MCC batsmen then failed to build partnerships as they lost eight wickets for 39 runs to be folded for 201. Apart from the openers, Will Vanderspar made significant contribution scoring 36 off 38 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes.

Pawan Sarraf bowls against Marylebone Cricket Club in a fifty over cricket match at TU Stadium, Kirtipur in Kathmandu on Monday. Photo: Udipt Singh Chhetry/ THT

Sarraf returned with 4-31 from eight overs, while Rajbanshi claimed 4-40 from 10 overs. Karan KC and Abinash Bohara took one wicket each.

In reply, Nepal lost opener Ishan Pandey (four) in the third ball of the innings, caught by Rhodes off Yasir Arafat, while Gyanendra Malla made a forgettable debut as a skipper after he was dismissed for 10 runs. Malla got the responsibility of captain after Paras Khadka resigned from the post last month. Khadka, who was named in the 50-over squad, was not included in playing set along with star legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane.

Sharad Vesawkar and vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee revived the innings adding 61 runs for the third wicket before Alex Thompson removed both of them in the space of two runs to reduce the home side to 81-4. Vesawkar struck four boundaries in his 49-ball 24, while Airee scored 23 off 39 balls hitting two sixes.

Arif Sheikh and Binod Bhandari then added 54 runs for the fifth wicket and the latter combined with Sarraf to take the team home without further loss. Sheikh scored 23 off 40 balls hitting three fours, while Bhandari remained unbeaten on 52 off 64 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes. Sarraf struck four boundaries and two sixes in his 25-ball 38 not out.

Arafat was the pick of the MCC bowlers taking 3-45 from eight overs, while Thompson claimed 2-59 from 10 overs. The two teams will play three-day match from Wednesday. The threeday match will be Nepal’s first First-Class match in 14 years. Nepal had last played the First Class match against the United Arab Emirates on home soil in 2005 during the ICC Intercontinental Cup.

The mixed team of national and U-19 sides will face the MCC in a Twenty20 match on November 9 before the visiting team travels to Pokhara. MCC will play T20 matches against Pokhara Invitational-XI and Chief Minister-XI sides on November 11 and November 12 respectively. MCC had opened the tour with a 38-run victory over Nepal U-19 team on Sunday.

(Nepal’s Pawan Sarraf bowls against MCC during their match in Kathmandu on Monday. Photo: Udipt Singh Chhetry/ THT

The post Sarraf stars as Nepal register victory over MCC appeared first on The Himalayan Times.