Team Performance Review: APF

League Stage Summary:

🔍 Matches Played: 9 📊 Points: 10 📈 NRR: 1.022 🏆Rank: 5

Armed Police Force (APF) initiated the tournament with strategic changes, appointing national skipper Rohit Paudel as captain and former skipper Gyanendra Malla as the team’s coach. The team began on a positive note, securing victories over Bagmati Province (by 89 runs) and Koshi Province (by 6 wickets). However, they faced a setback against Madhesh in the third match and experienced defeats against other departmental opponents in Bhairahawa.

Necessitating wins in all four remaining matches to secure a top-four finish, Paudel’s team displayed resilience by defeating Lumbini (by 7 wickets), Gandaki (by 88 runs), and Sudurpaschim (by 3 wickets). In a crucial final match against Karnali, despite restricting the opponents to 206 runs and a century from Aasif Sheikh, APF faltered in the chase, losing by 21 runs and missing out on a top-four finish.

With 14 players in the squad participating in at least one match, and 7 players featuring in all 9 matches, APF showcased a collective team effort.

Batting : 📊Rating: 6.5

APF displayed a commendable batting performance in the tournament, surpassing the 200-run mark on three occasions, with the highest total being 246-9 runs against Madhesh. Intriguingly, they failed to defend that score, but successfully chased targets below 200 on three other occasions. Skipper Paudel led the batting charts with 273 runs and four half-centuries, followed by wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh (204, including a century and another fifty) and Sundeep Jora (185, including a century).

Bowling: 📊 Rating: 7

APF demonstrated a decent bowling performance throughout the tournament, restricting opponents below 150 in four instances. Despite conceding a target of 247 against Madhesh, the highest successful chase of the tournament, APF’s bowlers showed consistency. Skipper Rohit Paudel and Bhuwan Karki ended the tournament with 14 wickets each, while Ramesh Kurmi and Shyam Dhakal contributed with 13 wickets each. Overall, APF showcased a balanced effort with both bat and ball in the competition.

Performance Peaks and Valleys:

Highs:

• Dominating wins against Bagmati, Koshi, Lumbini, Gandaki and Sudurpashim
• Captain Rohit Paudel ended as the leading run scorer as well as the leading wicket taker for APF.

Lows:

• They failed to chase a target of 207 runs against Sudurpaschim despite the century from Aasif Sheikh.
• They couldn’t qualify for the Elite Trophy.
• They had very less fast bowling options and injury to Abhinash Bohara hurt them in this tournament.

A Disappointing Tournament:

In summary, Armed Police Force (APF) faced disappointment in the tournament, falling short of a top-four finish and missing out on qualification for the Elite Trophy. The team also struggled to cover the void left by the injured Abhinash Bohara. Despite commendable efforts, APF will regroup and learn from this experience for future competitions. Notably, the key players Rohit Paudel and Aasif Sheikh, both pivotal to Nepal’s ODI lineup, will miss the red ball tournament (Elite Trophy).