Nepal captain demands to play match against big team after heartbreak

Nepal cricket team lost by just 1 run despite being on the verge of an unforgettable victory against South Africa. Himalayan girls Nepal had a chance to make history, with their first victory against ICC full member teams within reach. But they have to burn for only 1 run.

South Africa batted first and scored 115 runs. After restricting South Africa by so few runs, Nepal was dreaming of victory. It was close to victory. But they have to lose by 1 run. The heavy faces of Nepalese cricketers were caught on TV. Many have tears in their eyes. Gulshan Jha, who was run out on the last ball, cried on the field. Only a win against South Africa, if they win this match, they have a chance to go to the Super Eight. But they lost the match and left the World Cup.

Nepal needed only 8 runs to win in the last over. Gulshan could not get any runs from the first two balls of Bartman. He hit a four on the next ball to reduce the gap to 4 runs. The left handed batsman got 2 runs off the fourth ball. He could not touch the bat in the last two balls. He ran to take a single run off the last ball but had to be run out. That leaves a gap of 1 run.

After the match, Nepal team captain Rohit Paudel demanded to play the match against the big team. Rohit said, 'I am proud of my team. Especially the way the team batted and bowled. I am really proud. We were very close to winning. But could not cross the border. We didn't lose track at the last moment. I fought But not the end. If we get a chance to play more matches (against big teams) then we can be on the winning side.'

Nepal's pace attack was quite impressive. Protean Morne Morkel is in charge of the team's pace bowling coach. He is also happy with his team's pacers, 'We have a good pace attack. We bowled in the right places today. There was something special about the wicket that made the batsmen's job challenging. We could have played an extra spinner if we thought about the bigger range. I did not think that the wicket would catch so much spin. The pacers kept us in the match and credit should be given to them.'

Despite winning this match, South Africa praised Nepal. Team captain Aiden Markram said, 'There are two things here. Firstly, the way Nepal bowled did the job for us. A lot of credit must be given to them. It was pressing on us. It shows how strong they are in the dressing room. If you want to compare the two teams now, you're stuck. Because you will not find any difference between the two groups.'