Nepal U19 have registered a historic win over Bangladesh U19 in the last match of the 3 match one-day series. The friendly series was also a part of preparation for the upcoming U19 Asia cup to be held in Malaysia from 9th to 20th of November.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Bangladesh U19 posted a target of 226 runs. In reply, Nepal U19 chased the target with ease in 46.3 overs with 6 wickets in hand.
An excellent opening stand of 139 runs ensured Nepal U19’s win. Opening batsman Aasif Sheikh registered a brilliant attacking half century scoring 90 runs off 88 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes. Whereas the other opener Jitendra Singh Thakuri, playing his first match of the series scored 45 runs off 109 balls with 3 fours and a six.
After the departure of the openers, Anil Shah scored 15 runs and RK Paudel scored 25 runs while skipper Dipendra Singh Airee and Bhim Sharki stirred Nepal to an easy victory after Sharki scored a boundary in the third ball of the 47th over. Airee scored an unbeaten 27 runs off 35 balls with 3 fours while Sharki too remained unbeaten at 13 runs off 10 balls with a four and a six.
Earlier, Bangladesh U19 posted a total of 225 runs in 50 overs losing 7 wickets. After a poor start with the bat losing 3 wickets inside 18 overs, Aminul Islam scored an unbeaten 80 runs off 87 balls with 8 fours ensuring a defendable total for the team. Similarly, Mohammed Rakib scored 39 runs while opening batsman Pinak Ghosh scored 23 runs.
Shahab Alam was the pick of the bowlers for Nepal U19 grabbing 3 wickets off his 9 overs at an expense of 45 runs while Anil Shah picked 2 wickets and Dipendra Singh Airee was also able to snatch a wicket. Star leggie Sandeep Lamichhane who had done the most damage in the first two matches went wicketless as the Bangladeshi batsmen chose not to take risks against his bowling. He conceded 32 runs in his 10 over spell.
This win was a consolation victory for the Nepal U19 team as Bangladesh U19 already had the series in the bag. The first match of the serious was a close encounter as Bangladesh overcame serious pressure to post a 3-wicket victory. Whereas in the second match of the series, Bangladesh handed Nepal a 123-run thrashing.
The ACC U19 Asia Cup comprises of 8 teams in which Nepal is grouped with India, Bangladesh and hosts Malaysia in the group ‘A’ while group ‘B’ is composed of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan and winner of ACC U19 Asia Cup Western Qualifiers.
The ACC U19 Asia Cup Western Qualifiers is currently being held at Malaysia. The tournament has reached semi-finals stage with UAE facing Qatar and Kuwait facing Oman on 6th November for a slot in the finals.
Incidentally, Nepal will begin their U19 Asia Cup campaign on 11th November by facing Bangladesh once again. Similarly, they will play against India on 12thof November and finally Malaysia on 14th of November. Nepal will likely need to post at least two wins to make it to the semi-finals. The final of the tournament will be played on 19th of November.
Nepal will play their 1st match in Kinrara Oval while the remaining two matches will be played on Biomass Oval.
Nepal U19 Squad :-
1. Dipendra Singh Airee (Batting All-rounder)
2. Rohit Paudel (Batting All-rounder)
3. Sandeep Lamichhane (Leg Spinner)
4. Sandeep Sunar (Batsman)
5. Pranit Thapa Magar (Batsman)
6. Anil Kumar Shah ( Batsman)
7. Pawan Sharraf ( Off-spin All-rounder)
8. Mohammed Aasif Sheikh (Wicket-Keeper/Batsman)
9. Kishore Mahato (seamer)
10. Shahab Alam ( Left arm orthodox)
11. Prakash KC ( Wicket-Keeper/Batsman)
12. Kamal Singh Airee ( Seamer)
13. BhimSharki (Left arm orthodox All-rounder)
14. Rashid Khan (Seamer)
15. Jitendra Singh ( Batsman)
Backup Players :-
1. Sandeep Jora
2. Bikram Kumar Bhusal
3. Ankit Subedi
4. BijayaChaudary