Sports
Paudel, Jora steer Nepal to victory
Nepal defeated Andhra U-19 Pradesh Team by 62 runs in their first tour match in India on Wednesday.Sports Bureau
Nepal defeated Andhra U-19 Pradesh Team by 62 runs in their first tour match in India on Wednesday.
Electing to bat first, Nepal recovered through a solid century partnership between skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel and Sundeep Jora before a late blitz from Kamal Singh Airee propelled their total to 276 all out in 48 overs. The local team in reply was bundled out for 214 runs in 45.1 overs after spinner Kushal Malla picked up four wickets. Nepal are fine tuning their preparation for the ICC U-19 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier Asia to begin in Malaysia from April 10. Nepal are scheduled to play three more matches in their 15-day tour of India.
Nepal had a shaky start after losing first four wickets for 49 runs with K Venkatesh picking up two wickets. Paudel and Jora used all their experience of playing for the senior team during the One-Day International series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to bail out Nepal from the trouble.
Paudel and Jora put on 145 runs for the fifth wicket as Nepal crossed 200-run mark with plenty of overs left. Jora scored 69 off 64 with six sixes and two boundaries. Nepal went through a mini collapse as they lost five wickets for just 34 runs, starting with the dismissal of Jora. But Airee came up with his cameo to help Nepal post a challenging total. Airee, who hit five consecutive sixes in the 47th over, hammered a 25-ball 45. He also hit two boundaries. Paudel top scored for the team with a 116-ball 81 that included six fours and a six. P Tejaswi took 4-41 from 10 overs for the local Indian team.
The Indian team got off to a solid start in reply as openers Harsvardhan and Hemant added 83 runs for the first wicket in 13 overs. Spinner Pawan Sarraf gave Nepal the breakthrough removing Hemantm who scored a 41-ball 38 with six boundaries. Next over, Sagar Dhakal got rid of Harshvardhan. Nepal then continued to put Andhra Pradesh under pressure through their spinners. They were quickly reduced to 137-7. Tejaswi and Venkatesh (20) offered a brief resistance with a 65-run eighth wicket stand but the effort was too little and too late.
Airee ended their stand getting rid of Tejaswi as he went on the take the last three wickets. Harshvardhan top scored for Andhra Pradesh with a run-a-ball 46. His knock included seven fours and a six. Tejaswi struck two sixes and as many boundaries in a 51-ball 43. Malla returned the figures of 4-41 from 10 overs with two maiden. Airee took 3-39 while Sarraf took 2-28.