Some Unknown And Unusual Facts About The Nepal Cricket Team
The national cricket team of Nepal is considered as one of the fastest rising teams in the sport of cricket. In fact, some of their players have already gained popularity such as Gyanendra Malla, Shakti Gauchan, Sandeep Lamichhane, and Captain Paras Khadka, just to name a few.
So get ready as we present you some unknown and unusual facts about the Nepal cricket team in today’s blog entry.
Let’s begin…
Early History Of Nepal Cricket Association
The Nepal Cricket Association was formally established in 1946 by Lt. Gen. Madan Sumsher Jung Bahadhur Rana with the purpose of promoting the sport of cricket to the country. Forty two years later in 1988, Nepal was selected as the International Cricket Council’s affiliate member and an associate member 8 years after.
First To Score A 100+ (Century) Runs
In a game against Bhutan, Raju Khadka became the first Nepalese cricketer to score 100+ Run (105 of 50 balls). This happened in 2003 at the ACC Emerging Nations Cup.
World Record Holder
Sompal Kami, the team’s fast bowler, is the world record holder of the highest individual score in a T20 international match. He scored 40 runs of 31 balls coming at number 10 against the Hong Kong team.
Another World Record Holder
Mehboob Alam currently owns the world record of claiming 10 wickets in a 1-day match against the Mozambique cricket team in 2008. He gave out twelve runs and also stopped the opponent’s innings in twelve runs as well.
Highest Score In 1-day International
The national cricket team of Nepal is also made the highest total runs scoring 397 runs and losing 8 wickets versus Bhutan. And this also happened in 2003 at the ACC Emerging Nations Cup.
Hat Trick
Shakti Gauchan, the team’s All-Rounder, made an international hat-trick in a game versus Denmark in 2012. This happened in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers.
Only Nepali Cricketer To Play An IPL Trial
Shakti Gauchan set another record for being the only Nepali cricketer to play a trial game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Rajasthan Royals franchise.
First Ever To Get An IPL Contract
In 2018, Sandeep Lamichhane was the first Nepali cricketer to secure an IPL contract as he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL 2018 auctions.
Defeating USA At A Major Tournament
In 2010, Nepal defeated the USA in a finals cricket match at Kathmandu. This is one of the first major tournaments that the Nepal team won in cricket.
Earning A Coveted Spot
And finally, the Nepal Cricket Team was able to join group A alongside some of the best cricketing nations (Hong Kong, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh) in the ICC World T20 tournament in 2014. The team defeated Hong Kong and at the same time Afghanistan is the only team with no-ball in the entire tournament.
