Kathmandu – Afghanistan defeated arch-rival Nepal in the final game of Asian Cricket Council Premier League 2014 by 108 runs (D/L Method) at Kinrara Oval today.
Afghanistan 262/10 (49.3 ov) defeated Nepal 125/9 (32 ov) by 108 runs (D/L Method)
Put in to bat, Afghanistan piled up 262 runs in 49.3 overs. Usman Ghani 51 (61) & Noor Ali Zadran 43 (59) put 98 runs opening partnership. Hashmatullah Shaidi also scored a half century (51) while Skipper Mohammad Nabi added 34 runs to the total.
Leading Wicket taker in the tournament, Sompal Kami was expensive today while Spinner duo Shakti Gauchan & Basant Regmi grabbed three wickets each. New Comer Aarif Sheikh also chipped in with two wickets.
Nepal started cautiously but Seamer Dawlat Zadran rattled the top order by taking four wickets to push Nepal in backfoot. Nepal were 56/5 in 17th over and rain stopped the match.
After a hour delay, the target was revised to 232 runs in 32 overs as per the Duckworth Lewis Method. The wickets continued tumbling and Nepal could only score 125/9 in their 32.0 overs. Skipper Paras Khadka (33) was the highest run getter for Nepal while Sompal Kami (19) and Shakti Gauchan (19) were the other highest run maker during the chase.
Mirwais Ashraf clinched two wickets while Mohammad Nabi & Amir Hamza shared wicket apiece to defeat Nepal by comprehensively.
With the win, Afghanistan won the ACC Premier League title with four wins while Nepal moved to third in the table despite UAE, Oman and Nepal having 6 points each.
Sompal Kami was awarded as the Best Bowler in the tournament. He grabbed 15 wickets in 5 matches with an average of 15.13. 5/47 was his best bowling figure against Malaysia.
