The Nepalese U19 team has been knocked out from the ongoing ACC U19 Asia Cup after suffering a defeat against Afghanistan U19. Two back-to-back defeats confirmed Nepal’s exit from Group A of the tournament with a match against India still to play.
Chasing a target of 262 runs, Nepal experienced a defeat of 73 runs after being bowled out for 188 in 40.1 overs. Nepal lost the first wicket in the very first over as Bipin Rawal walked back for a duck. The Nepalese team were never in the game after that, losing wickets in a regular interval.
Nepal were 68/2 at one stage but the departure of Dev Khanal saw the team at 106/6 in no time. Dev Khanal scored 24 whereas another star player Gulshan Jha smacked two sixes and made 17 runs.
The opener Arjun Kumal was the last man to be dismissed. He scored 91 runs from 108 balls with the help of 13 boundaries.
For Afghanistan, Naseer Khan Maroofkhi and Faridoon Dawoodzai were the standout bowlers grabbing three wickets each. Mohammad Younus Zadran picked up two whilst Khalil Ahmed and Wahidullah Zadran pocketed one each.
Earlier in the first inning, Afghanistan posted 262/9 in 49.3 overs. Invited to bat first, Afghanistan started aggressively but lost the wicket of Wafiullah Tarakhil (15) in the second over. Hemant Dhami picked up two wickets in two in the seventh over as the Afgan side were down to 33/3.
Rahimullah Zurmati and Jamshid Zadran then shared 81 runs for the fourth wicket to revive their team in the contest. Zurmati scored 35 runs before Dipesh Kandel broke the partnership. Numan Shah Agha played an electrifying knock of 41-ball 60, including five fours and three sixes to put Afghanistan in the driving seat.
Meanwhile, Jamshid anchored the innings and scored a century from 143 delivaries. He was retired hurt after scoring 106 runs from 153 balls as the Afghan inning came to an end with nine down and three balls remaining.
For Nepal, Hemant Dhami, Gulshan Jha, and Subash Bhandari picked up two wickets each. Dipesh Kandel and Akash Chand also managed to pocket one wicket each.
