Sandeep Lamichhane admits Nepal have 'plenty of room' for improvement

Sandeep Lamichhane said Nepal are still looking for answers despite the uplifting end to their Cricket World Cup League 2 tour of UAE.

Aarif Sheikh inspired the Nepal side to a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea at the Dubai International Stadium.

The victory arrived on the back of two damaging defeats to the host nation earlier in the tri-series, which had shown up batting issues that have plagued Nepal for some time now.

They responded by dropping former captain Gyanendra Malla, and they thrived in his absence.

Having restricted PNG to 173-8 from their 50 overs, Aarif – who top scored with 59 not out - shared in a stand worth 87 with Kushal Bhurtel, then an unbroken one of 77 with Rohit Paudel. It meant Nepal chased the win with 78 balls to spare.

“Still, there is plenty of room to improve,” Lamichhane, the Nepal captain, said.

“Every day is a new opportunity for us. Even though we won the game, we are definitely going to look at the plans. We have another game coming up in a few days again against PNG [in Kathmandu].

“The coach [Pubudu Dassanayake] and I will sit together and discuss further about things. But this is a perfect way to end this series.”

Given the batting troubles of earlier in the series – Nepal had been bowled out for 103 and 120 by UAE – Lamichhane was delighted by the fight shown against PNG.

The way Aarif batted today and finished the game, it is really nice to see

Sandeep Lamichhane

“From the start to the way we finished, they all deserve a lot of appreciation,” Lamichhane said of his side’s batters.

“Aarif was given a new role coming in today at No 3. It was a new position for him and the way he batted today and finished the game, it is really nice to see.

“The way Rohit also helped him during the middle overs was really nice.”

Despite the win, Nepal remain sixth in the seven-team league. UAE, the other team in the tri-series, are now second after winning five of eight matches in the competition over the past two week.

PNG’s win against UAE two days previously remains their only win in the competition so far. Assad Vala, their captain, was upset by how his side had let their standards slip against Nepal.

“I thought we played some really good cricket over the first three days, then to end the way we did was disappointing,” said Vala, who had top scored with 45 for PNG.

“Batting out all the 50 overs in all four games was a plus for us. The bowling was exceptional over the first three games, but today I was disappointed with the standards we showed.

“It wasn’t the way we wanted to finish the tournament. We just couldn’t put them under pressure. We were just floating the ball up and making it easy for them.

“We couldn’t break the partnerships. We had seen their struggles over the course of the last two games against UAE, and we knew if we could get wickets we would be in the game. We just couldn’t exert pressure.”

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The Indoor Cricket World Cup

When: September 16-23

Where: Insportz, Dubai

Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23

UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final

Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final

Red flags

Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

Your rights as an employee

The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.

The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.

If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.

Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.

The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.

Simran

Director Hansal Mehta

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey

Three stars

Mia Man’s tips for fermentation

- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut

- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.

- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.

- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

Places to go for free coffee

Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee