I’ve been tracking cricket stats as a hobby ever since my nephew got into bowling last season. When I heard folks buzzing about “nahid rana stats” during the ACC Men’s T20 tournament, I grabbed my laptop to dig in. Didn’t know squat about this player at first.
Starting Point
Opened ESPNcricinfo and typed “Nahid Rana” straight into the search bar. Zero results popped up. Thought maybe a typo or international player not listed. Scrolled through Bangladesh’s U19 squad lists instead – still nada. Almost gave up until someone in a cricket forum mentioned the Nepal vs Saudi Arabia match.
The Manual Hunt
Went match by match through the ACC schedules like a detective. Watched blurry highlights where you could barely see jersey numbers:
- Checked scorecards against Qatar
- Found bowling figures vs Cambodia
- Got batting stats from Saudi Arabia match
Copied every number into a messy spreadsheet at 2am. Coffee stains included.
The Big Reveal
Turns out I’ve been tracking the wrong spelling the whole time! Nepali team sheets showed Nirdesh Singh instead. That “nahid rana” name was totally fan-made for Twitter hashtags. Explains why no official records matched.
What We Actually Got
After triple-checking tournament stats for Nirdesh:
- Economy rate: 4.5 runs per over (decent!)
- Best bowling: 3 wickets for 12 runs
- Highest score: 28 off 18 balls
Took screenshots and posted my findings before realizing Twitter users just wanted hero stats for memes. My detailed spreadsheet got three likes. Nepali cricket forums went “who is this guy?”
Aftermath
My nephew says I wasted three weekends on nothing. But now I can tell you Nirdesh bowls military medium pace with inconsistent line and length. That’s something. Next time I hear “check X player stats,” I’ll ask for jersey numbers first.
