DUBAI // Sachin Tendulkar has heard the chant of his name so many times over the past 24 years it is no surprise he expects it to reverberate in his ears until he stops breathing.
But for the first time on Saturday night, Nepal’s Sharad Vesawkar had a similar experience. He will have gone to sleep with the soundtrack of “Shar-aad, Sharad,” playing in his head.
The little-known all-rounder from a country still making its way in the sport thrilled a legion of his cricket-loving compatriots by hitting them to an improbable win over Kenya on Saturday.
They needed 17 off the final over to win the game. Vesawkar only required four deliveries, though, as he hit three sixes and a double to settle a six-wicket victory in Nepal’s favour.
“We were quite confident because it is a small ground straight, and if we kept wickets in hand early we thought we could definitely win this match,” Vesawkar said.
“There was no other option. I had to go for it and luckily we managed to cross the line.”
A couple of hundred Nepalese expatriates sat on the grass bank in front of Bradenton Prep at the ICC Academy and cheered themselves hoarse in support of their side.
For 39 of the 40 overs it looked like they were going to go home disappointed, though, after Rakep Patel blazed an extraordinary hundred off 42 balls for Kenya.
Patel arrived at the wicket with his side stuttering, yet razed the Nepalese bowlers – with Vesawkar himself bearing the main brunt of punishment, leaking 30 from his lone over.
While Nepal’s captain and national hero Paras Khadka was at the wicket, they remained in with a shout, but he was off strike at the start of the final over.
Within the space of two balls, though – both clubbed over the mid-on boundary – victory was a formality and the supporters chanting Vesawkar’s name were at fever pitch.
“The support we have tops up your energy levels,” Vesawkar said. “When things are down they keep supporting you and that is what we need. I want to thank them as well.”
The result means Nepal are two from two in the tournament so far, as they pursue one of the six qualification berths on offer for next year’s World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
“We had the wickets in hand, ‘Captain Cool’ [Khadka] was there and he knew exactly what he was doing,” said Pubudu Dassanayake, the Nepal coach.
“Sharad is our finisher, he has done that before, so we had confidence. We just needed that push.
“We needed this result today because Netherlands lost [to Papua New Guinea] and Scotland lost to Afghanistan, so it was crucial we kept our run going.”
Good news and bad news for UAE
In the other group, the UAE maintained their own confident start to the qualifying campaign with a second win in successive days.
Rohan Mustafa took three cheap wickets and Mohammed Azam hit a half century as the national team beat their familiar foes Namibia by five wickets in Abu Dhabi.
But on the downside, Nasir Aziz, the UAE’s leading bowler, has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action for the second time in his career. The off-spinner was reported by match officials after the win over Uganda on Friday. Aziz, who was also reported in April 2011, will be permitted to continue playing but will have to undergo analysis on his bowling action within seven days.
Other results on Saturday
Namibia 120-9
Viljoen 35; Mustafa 3-14
UAE 121-5
Azam 51; Scholtz 2-25
UAE won by 5 wickets
Ireland 168-5
Johnston 39 (no); Hansra 2-24
Canada 166-3
Bagai 67 (no); Sorensen 2-23
Ireland won by 2 runs
Uganda 105 all out
Okia 31; Afzal 3-12
Hong Kong 107-6
Irfan 27; Mukasa 4-23
Hong Kong won by 4 wickets
United States 160-5
Taylor 91; Munasinghe 2-26
Italy 163-4
Berg 90; Ganesh 2-32
Italy won by 6 wickets
Denmark 111-8
Shah 31; Brangman 3-29
Bermuda 112-1
Manders 45 (no); Iqbal 1-13
Bermuda won by 9 wickets
PNG 193-3
Ura 100; Bukhari 1-29, Borren 1-29
Netherlands 141-9
Rippon 50 (no); Vanua 3-12
PNG won by 52 runs
Kenya 182-7
Patel 103; Mukhiya 2-31
Nepal 186-4
Khakurel 54, Khadka 54; Varaiya 1-26
Nepal won by 6 wickets
Afghanistan 171-6
Nabi 46; Wardlaw 3-40
Scotland 154-6
MacLeod 56; Zadran 2-30
PNG won by 4 wickets
pradley@thenational.ae
