The Nepalese U19 team has grabbed a back-to-back victory in the ongoing ACC U19 Premier Cup. Nepal thrashed Bahrain by seven wickets at Bayuemas Oval on Monday.
Following a target of 78 runs, Nepal completed the chase in 11.2 overs losing seven wickets. Nepal had a shaky start of 10/3 in the third over, losing Deepak Bohara (4), Uttam Thapa Magar (0) and Dipak Dumre (1) for a cheap score.
Skipper Dev Khanal and Arjun Kumal handled the situation comfortably and guided Nepal towards a victory with 230 balls spare. Dev Khanal ended up with an unbeaten 32*(27 balls) while Arjun Kumal remained not out for 31-ball 32.
Anas Obaid Syed picked up all three wickets for Bahrain.
Nepal now has four points from two matches. They need to defeat Saudi Arabia in the final group-stage match on 19 October at YSD UKM Oval to finish top of the table and secure a semifinal spot.
Earlier, Nepal bowled out Bahrain for 77 runs after opting to bat first at Bayuemas Oval. Dipesh Kandel was the star, grabbing a six-wicket haul as Nepal bundled them out in 37.5 overs.
Only Basil Abdul Hakkim who scored 34 runs from 77 balls could cross a double-digit figure for Bahrain. Meanwhile, five batters were dismissed for a duck.
Bahrain were 17/4 after 11 overs but 44 runs foundation was set for the fifth wicket in 20 overs.
Nepal conceded 17 extra runs, including 11 wides, three no-balls, and three leg byes. Only three fours and a couple of sixes were hit throughout the Bahrain innings.
Absolute magic from Dipesh Kandel. 🪄 🎩
He finish with a figure of 9.5-8-4-6. 😱
Take a bow young man. 🙇 pic.twitter.com/13hSyCNS5m
— cricnepal.com 🇳🇵 🦏 (@cricnepal) October 15, 2023
Left-arm orthodox – Dipesh Kandel was the pick of a bowler for Nepal. He finished with a mind-blowing figure of 9.5-8-4-6. Kandel conceded a wide in the first over and bowled eight back-to-back maiden overs (including a wicket-maiden). He conceded three runs and then grabbed two consecutive wickets to finish the innings.
Durgesh Gupta also picked up four wickets. He conceded 22 runs from eight overs bowling one maiden.
