Nepal surrendered meekly to India losing by a huge 171 runs in their first Group ‘A’ match of the ACC U-19 Asia Cup in Savar, Bangladesh, on Saturday.

Electing to field first at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Portisthan grounds, Nepal were undone by a magnificent century from opener Yashashvi Jaiswal and a gritty half century from Prab Simran Singh who guided the team to 304-9 in 50 overs. Nepal were still in the fight at 96-3 at one stage but they went on to lose last seven wickets in a space of 37 runs as the team was bundled out for just 133 runs in 36.5 overs.

Opener Rabindra Jung Shahi (11) and Ravi Shah (16) gave Nepal an average start adding 31 runs for the first wicket before both fell with addition of a single run. Skipper Aasif Sheikh and Sandeep Zora added another 29 runs in an attempt to steady the innings. Zora made a run-a-ball 20 with two fours and a six before falling to Ayush Badoni.

Sheikh and Rohit Kumar Paudel - released from the national team to join the U-19 squad, then brought Nepal’s biggest partnership of the day - 36 runs - for the fourth wicket to consolidate the innings. But once Sheikh fell to Mohit Jangra, Nepali innings began to crumble. Sheikh top scored for Nepal with a 61-ball 25 that included a six and a four.

Paudel soon followed his skipper after making 24 off 28 with three hits to the fence. Harsh Tyagi destroyed the lower middle order picking up three quick wickets as Nepali batting capitulated. Apart from Tyagi, Siddharth Desai also took three wickets for India.

Nepal coach Binod Das had expected an improved performance from the team which surrendered against India ‘A’ and ‘B’ team in a Quadrangular One Day Series prior to the tournament. But Das was left dejected after the humiliating defeat.

“We need to understand that we are playing against the world champions and they will not allow us too many opportunities. So we must dig deep if we want to do well. I hope the boys are learning the lessons. It’s an embarrassing loss and I must admit that we as a team have let ourselves down in all three departments,” Das told the Post from Bangladesh.

Das was left ruing the opportunity to fight back in the game after throwing away a decent partnership. “We just didn’t apply ourself. We had a decent partnership between Asif and Rohit but once Asif got out, we just didn’t allow ourself to take some time and bat. We have been making same mistake in too many games,” the coach added.

Earlier, Jaiswal perfectly led the Indian innings with a solid 83-run partnership for the first wicket with Devdutt Paddikal (30). He also shared 76 runs for the third wicket with Singh to lay the foundation for a big total. Jaiswal made 104 from 113 balls hitting eight fours and five sixes before falling to Rashid Khan.

Singh continued to play his shots and smashed a 61-ball 82 hitting six fours and three sixes. Badoni chipped in 23-ball 33 with three fours and a six. Bhim Sharki was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 4-42 from seven overs, while Khan also had two scalps.

Nepal will now take on defending champions Afghanistan in their second league match on Monday. Afghanistan eased to a five-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates in another Group ‘A’ game. In Group ‘B’, Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by six wickets and Pakistan hammered Hong Kong by nine wickets.

Summary

India U-19 304-9 in 50 overs (Y Jaiswal 104, PS Singh 82; B Sharki 4-42, R Khan 2-45) beat Nepal U-19 133 all out in 36.5 overs (A Sheikh 25, RK Paudel 24; H Tyagi 3-21, S Desai 3-19) by 171 runs

Man-of-the-match: Y Jaiswal (IND)