09-Feb-2026

My heart flew out to the spirited Nepal cricket team when they came so close to winning yet had to go home defeated. All that stood between victory and them was a meagre four runs. How heartbreaking!!! It was a classic example of “so near, yet so far” for a team which had shown tremendous improvement since their first appearance in the ICC T20 tournament. Their bowling has matured by leaps and bounds, while their batmen are fearless and gritty. In the previous edition of this prestigious tournament, they came so close to winning, almost upsetting the formidable South African team, but fell short very marginally.  This time too, the story was the same. They pushed England to the wall in the first inning with their wily bowling, and when their turn came for batting, they had more than exhibited that they were second to none. Mark my words, they are going to do it soon…….. and once they defeat the devil once, this team will be a force to be reckoned with.

So much for their fans as well. They were simply magnificent as they almost turned Mumbai into Kathmandu, coming in full strength, boys and girls, the young and the old. Their colourful attires mesmerised even the counterparts, the English fans. A word of encouragement for them too – that victory of their team is not far away. A day will soon come when their team will make them dance and rock the stadium with their victory, where tears of joy will rain down from every one of them like the monsoon rains in the Pahar region. Best wishes.