Sports
Nepal go down fighting against Tigers
Nepali U-19 team lost to Bangladesh U-19 by three wickets in their first practice match for the upcoming ACC U-19 Asia Cup at BKSP grounds in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday.Nepali U-19 team lost to Bangladesh U-19 by three wickets in their first practice match for the upcoming ACC U-19 Asia Cup at BKSP grounds in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday.
After put into bat first, Nepal could only muster 153-9 in 50 overs but the bowlers bowled their heart out before Bangladesh crawled to 154-7 in 39 overs. Former skipper Sandeep Lamichhane was the star performer for the touring side as the leg-spinner picked up four wickets in his tight 10-over spell conceding just 25 runs.
Nepal got an early breakthrough after Dipendra Singh Airee effected a run out of opener Pinak Ghosh (14) with 21 runs on the board. After some sensible batting, Pawan Sarraf struck taking the wicket of Saif Hasan (seven) but another opener Naim Sheikh and Towhid Hridly kept the Nepali attack at bay. The two batsmen shared 46 runs for the third wicket getting their team close to triple figures.
Sheikh made a half century, scoring 53 off 65 balls with eight boundaries before Lamichhane had him stumped by Aasif Sheikh. Lamichhane soon got rid of new comers Afif Hossain (three), Mohammad Rakib (three), Nayeem Hassan (duck) and in between Shahab Alam scalped Mahidul Islam Bhuyean (naught) as the hosts were reduced to 126-7 in 35 overs. However, Hridly stayed firm and together with Kazi Anik Islam (18 not out) took Bangladesh across the finishing line. Hridly compiled a composed 48 from 66 balls with three fours and a six.
Earlier, Nepal lost opener Sandeep Sunar (one) in the second over before Aasif Sheikh tried to anchor the innings with Anil Kumar Sah and skipper Airee sharing 30 and 32 runs for the second and third wicket respectively. Sah was out for 18 off 34 balls.
The momentum shifted towards Bangladesh after Nayeem removed Airee (16) and new man Rohit Kumar Paudel (duck) in consecutive deliveries as Nepal were reduced to 64-4 in the 20th over. Aasif was next to go, top scoring for his side with a 77-ball 32 that included three boundaries. Bhim Sharki offered a brief resistance hitting two sixes and as many boundaries in his 28 from 46 deliveries before he was bowled by Shakhawat Hossain.
Sarraf (19) and Kamal Singh Airee (16) saved the Nepali blushes taking the score past 150-run mark. Man-of-the-match Anik Islam (3-27) and Hasan Mahmud (3-32) shared six wickets between them for Bangladesh. Nepal will play two more friendly matches—on November 4 and 5—before returning home on November 6.
The ACC U-19 Asia Cup is scheduled for November 10-19 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nepal are drawn against Test-giants India and Bangladesh along with hosts Malaysia in Group ‘A’.
Summary
Bangladesh U-19 154-7 in 39 overs (N Sheikh 53, T Hridly 48 not out; S Lamichhane 4-25, S Alam 1-28) beat Nepal U-19 153-9 in 50 overs (A Sheikh 32, B Sharki 28; KA Islam 3-27, H Mahmud 3-32) by three wickets
Man-of-the-match: KA Islam (BNG)