Nepal U-19 produced a miraculous win to seal the spot in the upcoming U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Nepal were victorious by seven runs in the indirect final of the U-19 World Cup Asia Qualifier. Both Nepal and UAE won their previous four matches; hence the winner would seal the spot in the upcoming mega event.
The Nepalese youth team were unable to feature in the mega event since 2016. Nepal missed out on the 2020 edition after a painful one-run loss on the D/L method against UAE itself.
Dipesh Kandel picked up a hattrick at the end to seal Nepal’s miraculous win. UAE were in a comfortable position of 152/4, requiring 40 runs from the last eight overs. Hemant Dhami then dismissed set batter Ethan Carl D’Souza for 50 to bring Nepal into the contest. UAE needed just 15 runs from the last four overs when Hemant Dhami picked up another wicket.
The hosts were 11 short of shattering Nepal’s dream again, but Dipesh Kandel did the magic to win the match for Nepal. He picked up a hattrick in the remaining three balls of his spell (In 48th over) and also completed his fifer as Nepal were victorious by seven runs.
Apart from Dipesh Kandel’s fifer, Subash Bhandari and Dipesh Kandel picked up two wickets each.
Earlier, Nepal were bowled out for 191 runs after opting to bat first. Despite a shaky start, Nepal were bowled out in 48.5 overs.
Opting to bat first at Eden Garden Oval, Ajman Nepal had a shaky start losing the wicket in the very first ball, followed by a quick dismissal of Arjun Kumal and Aakash Tripathi. Skipper Dev Khanal and Uttam Thapamagar shared 84 runs for the fourth wicket to rescue Nepal from 19/3. Uttam contributed 36, while Dev made 51 runs before walking back in the 28th over.
Bishal Bikram KC then scored valuable 38 runs to drag Nepal towards a respectful total. Hemant Dhami assisted run a ball 13 while spinner Dipesh Kandel made crucial 13 runs before giving away the last wicket.
Dhruv Prashar was the pick of a bowler for UAE grabbing three wickets. Aayan Khan and Harit Harish Shetty also pocketed a couple of wickets.
