Nepal beat Afghanistan in U-19 cricket

Kathmandu, September 16

Nepali youth cricket team registered their first victory in the Quadrangular U-19 One Day Series defeating Afghanistan by 25 runs in Lucknow today.

Batting first, Nepal were bowled out for 189 runs with three balls to spare before packing Afghanistan for 164 runs in 47.4 overs. As both teams were already out of the race for final, the match was just the warm up game for them ahead of Tuesday’s third-place playoff. India ‘A’ and India ‘B’ have advanced to the final of the tournament organised by the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) as the warm up for the U-19 Asia Cup.

Nepal’s victory over Afghanistan came after seven years in age-group cricket. Nepal had last defeated Afghanistan in the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers in Ireland in 2011. And the win was Nepal’s fourth against the Asian rivals in their 11 meetings in U-19 level.

Invited to take the first strike, Nepali batsmen struggled and it was Pawan Sarraf who guided the team to the fighting total. Sarraf top scored for the team with 96-ball 78 that included 10 fours and a six. He also shared a couple of important partnerships to steady the ship and take the team to safety. At one stage, Nepal were reduced to 116-7 and Sarraf combined with Rashid Khan to add 65 runs for the eighth wicket.

Khan scored 24 off 49 balls hitting two fours. Sandeep Zora netted 31-ball 28 with the help of three boundaries and a six, while and Lokesh Bam (16) and Bhim Sharki (13) also contributed in double digits. Nawid Mohammad Kabir was the pick of the Afghanistan bowlers taking three wickets.

In reply, Afghanistan made mediocre start but crumbled in middle and fell well short of the target. Skipper Ijaz Ahmed Mehran top scored for Afghanistan with 96-ball 57 hitting two each fours and sixes, while Abdul Rahman Rahmani scored 37 off 46 balls that included two fours and three sixes.

Sagar Dhakal was the chief destroyer taking 4-29 from 10 overs, while Kamal Singh Airee and Rashid Khan claimed two wickets each. Pawan Sarraf also returned to take a wicket.

All three teams have been pitted in the same pool — Group A — along with the United Arab Emirates in the U-19 Asia Cup which will be held from September 29 to October 7 in Bangladesh. Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan were drawn in Group B.

Nepal will open the campaign with a match against India on September 29 before taking on Afghanistan on October 1. Nepal will then face the UAE on October 2. Top two sides from both the pools will make it to the semi-finals. The final is on October 7.

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