Sompal Kami & Co. hand Bangladesh a powerplay lesson

34/3, 29/1, 52/2 and 31/4 – these have been Bangladesh’s powerplay scores in the T20 World Cup 2024. They have been one of the worst teams in the powerplay this season, averaging 14.8 and have lost a wicket every 14.4 deliveries this season. Moreover, they have scored at an economy rate of just 6.2 this season. Bangladesh have been having the issue of their top-order not stepping up to the plate for some time now, and seems like this World Cup has done very little to fix that. However, that was certainly not the story of the first six overs, as Nepal produced an absolute masterclass.

Sompal Kami produced an exhibition in the first six and, in his three overs in the phase today (June 16), ripped Bangladesh apart. He wasted no time as he banged it in short against Tanzid Hasan first ball of the match to have the batter mistime it straight to him. If you think that was a one-off, he returned for his third over as a short delivery worked against Litton Das, who top-edged it to the wicketkeeper.

He bowled with utmost control and did not give an inch

Between Kami’s carnage, the Nepal spinners, who showed their class against South Africa at the same venue in the last game kept the pressure up. Dipendra Singh Airee bamboozled Najmul Hossain Shanto with a ball that went in with the arm and skipper Rohit Paudel rounded the powerplay off with the massive wicket of Towhid Hridoy, who failed to time a sweep shot and Sandeep Lamichhane took an excellent catch on the on-side, pouching it when the ball was swirling everywhere. 

When you think of Nepal spinners, you think of Lamichhane, but he had no contribution with the ball in the first six. Even against South Africa, while the other spinners kept striking, he failed to pick up a wicket but kept the runs down

Excellent fielding and catching, complimenting world-class bowling, was the theme of Nepal’s powerplay against Bangladesh. In crunch moments against South Africa, Nepal perhaps found themselves a tad behind the eight-ball and, as a result, found themselves short by one run. Losing a match by such an agonizing margin after dominating most of the game can lower anyone’s spirits.

However, that has not been the case for Nepal. Right from the first ball against Bangladesh, they showed they are here to get a win despite the fact that they do not have anything riding on it. That’s not the case for their opponents, who need a win to make it through to the Super Eights. 

"We are building our story, so I am not thinking about spoiling anyone else's party, but the way the message was in our dressing room is that we still want to live in a world of imagination where we want to believe that we crossed the line yesterday [vs South Africa]," Nepal head coach Monty Desai had said ahead of this game.

Nepal’s success over the last year and a half has been synonymous with Desai’s entry into the dressing room. The Rhinos have turned into a tough team to beat, not just at home, but have shown that can give you a run for their money anywhere. 

Against the Proteas and now against Bangladesh, they have shown that they have read the conditions far better, perhaps stemming from the fact that they practised in St Vincent ahead of the T20 World Cup and played a few warm-up games there too. 

They say a good start is half the job done. Will that be the case for Nepal today, though?

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