Sports
Nepal crash out of semis
Nepal’s fairytale journey in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup ended in the semi-finals after the team once again succumbed to Afghanistan by seven wickets at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.Nepal’s fairytale journey in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup ended in the semi-finals after the team once again succumbed to Afghanistan by seven wickets at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Nepal were expected to put some fight after beating Test giants India and almost stunning Bangladesh. But offspinner Mujeeb Zadran dealt a hammer blow destroying the top and middle order as Nepal were bundled out for 103 runs in 28 overs. Afghanistan raced to victory in 20.3 overs.
The match was halted for more than an hour due to rain with Afghanistan 94-1 in 18 overs. After resumption, Nepal did have some solace picking up the wickets of set opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Ali Khil. Darwish Rasool completed the formality hitting two sixes in the 21st over bowled by Shahab Alam.
Gurbaz and Khil (18) shared 71 runs for the second wicket and the former played fluently making 71 from 65 balls with nine boundaries and two sixes. Leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who removed Gurbaz, picked up one wicket as did Kamal Singh Airee and Pawan Sarraf. Nepal coach Binod Das was left dejected after the team crashed to third big defeat under Das. “We were well aware of their spinners and had planned accordingly. But losing both openers early on didn’t let us settle in the game,” said Das.
Tall spinner Zadran left Nepal clueless after he dismissed openers Aasif Sheikh (duck) and Jitendra Singh Thakuri (one) in the second and fourth over. Anil Sah and skipper Dipendra Singh Airee (six) offered a brief resistance before Zadran bowled the latter. Nepal soon lost Rohit Kumar Paudel (four) in the 12th over with the scores reading 41-4.
The biggest partnership of the day came from Sah and Bhim Sharki (6) with the duo adding 30 for the fifth wicket. But Afghanistan regained control of the game after a terrible mix-up led to the run out of Sharki. Sarraf (8) was next to go, losing his wicket to Qais Ahamad Kamawal. Sah completed his half century but Zadran returned for his second spell and removed Nepal’s top scorer.
In an impressive batting display, Sah made 50 from 57 balls with seven boundaries and the only six in Nepali innings. Except Sah, none other Nepali batsmen managed to make runs in double figures. “There was no one from the middle order to support Anil at the crease. With wickets tumbling at the other end, Anil himself came under pressure and lost his wicket. With a low total to defend, there was hardly any room for our bowlers,” added Das.
Afghanistan will now play their first ever U-19 Asia Cup final when they take on Pakistan at the Kinrara on Sunday. Afghanistan coach Andy Moles was a satisfied man. “We gave our best performance today. We have been doing very well in this tournament. We had some plans after winning the toss and they were implemented perfectly. Nepal were also playing good cricket in this tournament, so we needed to pull up the gear,” said Moles.
Summary
Afghanistan 108-3 in 20.3 overs (R Gurbaz 71, IA Khil 18; S Lamichhane 1-22, P Sarraf 1-2) beat Nepal 103 all out in 28 overs (A Sah 50, P Sarraf 8; MR Zadran 6-28, QA Kamawal 2-23) by seven wickets
Man-of-the-match: MR Zadran (AFG)