Nepal defeated Afghanistan by one wicket

2024.01.27

In the meanwhile, Bangladesh defeated the USA by 121 runs to secure a place in the Under-19 World Cup Super Six.

On Friday in East London, Afghanistan and Nepal had everything to play for, and play they did, toe-to-toe, inch-for-inch, to an exhilarating conclusion amid suspenseful drama. After defeating Afghanistan by a single wicket, Nepal advanced to the men’s Under-19 World Cup Super Six stage; nevertheless, the match may have been about more than simply the outcome and the configuration of the following round of competition.

At different points, Nepal appeared to have it all under control, first with Aakash Chand smashing through the Afghanistan batting and then with skipper Dev Khanal caressing his way to a fifty-eight-ball fifty-ee. However, Afghanistan never gives up, no matter what level of the game they are playing. Subash Bhandari, who had earlier returned 1 for 15 from 8.1 overs, took it deep before he poked at one outside off to Arab Gul’s legspin, gained a good edge, and delivered it through a crowded off-side field for four. Agreement reached. The game itself was as chaotic as the celebrations were.

Chand, who went on to earn Player of the Match, set up the victory. Afghanistan chose to bat, and by the tenth over, they were struggling at 34 for 5. Of those, four were taken by Chand. Hassan Eisakhil (20), Naseer Khan Maroofkhil (31), and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (37), led the counteroffensive, but Afghanistan could only muster 145 points. With Eisakhil as his fifth wicket, Chand completed with a 5 for 34 total.

Nepal’s response got off to an almost equally shaky start when Khalil Ahmed and Faridoon Dawoodzai cut them down to 24 for 3. However, a commanding Khanal and a reserved Aakash Tripathi seemed to steal the game from Afghanistan, scoring the greatest innings-long partnership of 49 runs between them.

There had to be a twist, and in the twenty-fourth over, Maroofkhil sent Tripathi back with 73 runs still to reach the goal. Even though a few more wickets went at the other end, Khanal remained steady until Ghazanfar trapped him for 58 runs.

That made a total of 127 for 7. The overs were not a problem, but Afghanistan was pursuing Nepal hard. With six runs remaining, Dipak Bohora fell, but he made sure it waved enough to put Nepal within striking distance of victory. The dot balls piled up as fielders swarmed around the bat at that point, but Bhandari eventually found a way out.

Nepal 149 for 9 (Khanal 58, Dawoodzai 3-21, Maroofkhil 2-28) beat Afghanistan 145 (Ghazanfar 37, Chand 5-34, Kandel 2-17) by one wicket

WEST INDIES vs ENGLAND

With an all-around effort, Nathan Edwards helped the West Indies defeat England at Potchefstroom by two wickets and advance to the Super Six stage. After England collapsed for 192, he took 3 for 28 with his left arm seam and then hit an undefeated 49 to lead his team home.

In the opening over of the game, Nathan Edward trapped Jaydn Denly after West Indies decided to bowl. Ben McKinney, the captain of England, and Noah Thain put up fifty runs for the second wicket before the latter dismissed McKinney. In the 21st over, Thain and Hamza Shaikh (who scored 54 off 83 runs) pushed England to 97 for 2, but after Thain was taken by offspinner Tarrique Edward, the innings fell apart. England was 146 for 7 at one point, but their lower order pulled them nearly to 200.

In the opening over, West Indies also lost a wicket and by the sixth over, they were down to 31 for 2. However, their captain, Stephan Pascal, took all the shots and finished with 58 off of 84.

Legspinner Tazeem Chaudry Ali took three wickets, including Pascal’s, in an attempt to keep England in the game. The aim was still 37 runs away when West Indies lost their sixth, but the asking rate was never an issue.

But after hitting an undefeated 49 off 80 balls, Nathan Edward got back up again. Before reaching the winning boundary, he and Tarrique Edward combined 36 off 32 deliveries, with the latter’s contribution coming in at 5.

West Indies 196 for 8 (Pascal 58, Nathan Edward 49*, Tazeem 3-34) beat England 192 (Shaikh 54, Thain 40, Nathan Edward 3-28) by two wickets

BANGLADESH vs USA

After Ariful Islam’s 103, Bangladesh thrashed the USA by 121 runs in Bloemfontein. Bangladesh qualified to the Super Six stage of the competition after finishing second in their group with two victories in three games.

After choosing to bowl first, USA had Bangladesh at 94 for 3, but a 122-run partnership between Ariful and Ahrar Amin (who scored 44) lifted Bangladesh to 291. Ariful had a strong scoring rate while scoring nine boundaries. However, left-arm seamer Arya Garg, who finished the game with five wickets after collecting 3 for 68, continued his excellent form for the USA.

USA had a solid start to the chase led by Prannav Chettipalayam’s 57. However, he had little assistance from the other end as the USA lost direction about the midway point. 86 for 1 became 112 for 4, and they lost 6 for 16 to be bowled out for 170 in the 40th over. The hero of Bangladesh’s bowling assault was left-arm spinner Rabby, who finished with 4 for 31 in 10 overs.

Bangladesh 291 for 7 (Ariful 103, Amin 44, Garg 3-68) beat USA 170 (Chettipalayam 57, Srivastava 37, Rabby 4-31) by 121 runs