'I didn't expect such a big crowd'

Paras Khadka, Nepal

Last night we had the opening ceremony for the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 here in Nepal and what was really great was that the prime minister of Nepal came to open the event and it was great to hear him speak so positively of cricket and his hopes for Nepal in the tournament.

Today has been good but I feel, as a side, we need to improve our intensity and show a bit more energy and we could do wonders. I am not saying that I am not happy with our win over Jersey – we batted and bowled well but there are always ways to improve our game.

I didn’t expect to have such a big crowd at the game as the Army Ground is a fair distance outside Kathmandu but to have over 1000 people there cheering our names, every four, and giving us support was fantastic. We normally get good crowds in Nepal and it’s something that we live for as players to hear our nation’s people cheering us on.

Looking ahead to tomorrow – we know Singapore as a side but we played them at Twenty20 and this is a different format. You have to take every opponent seriously and Singapore are definitely a good side since they qualified as Division 6 winners and we just have to take each game as it comes and give it our all.

Finally to win the Man of the Match today was a good a feeling. I always wanted to lead by example and I would like us to consistently get the runs and wickets - and if I lead the way I hope my team will follow and we will continue to be a side to reckoned with.