Nepal and Afghanistan notch up crucial wins on Day One
The opening day of the ICC U19s CWC Asia Qualifier saw Nepal and Afghanistan pick up crucial wins after putting the South East Asian duo of Singapore and Malaysia’s respective batting line ups to the sword. While Afghanistan made light work of Malaysia’s total, Singapore tested the Nepalese in their chase.
At the Singapore Cricket Club, Nepal had won the toss The opening pair of Rangarajan and Agarwal found the going tough as Nepal’s opening bowlers hit decent areas on the deck while the infield sustained the pressure in the 30 yard circle. As Rangarajan departed for nought in the fourth over and Nepal getting the second breakthrough six overs later, the collapse began for Singapore. From 21- 3, the hosts were soon reeling at 26-7, adding a meagre five runs for just as many wickets. Coming in at number 8, Brigu Iyer brought the Nepalese down to earth with a quick-fire 42 (39) which included six boundaries and a six. Opening bowler, Mahato coming in for his second spell, ended Iyer’s stand after rattling the left hander’s stumps and in doing so, also ending Singapore’s innings at 73 in 29 overs. Nepalese skipper and leg spinner, Lamichhane, claiming his five wickets for 21 runs.
Nepal’s chase hit a speedbump almost immediately as Singapore’s burly opening bowler, Aryaman Uchil sent both opening bats back to the quiet Nepalese dug out as they took turns glancing hesitantly at the scoreboard which read 9-2 off 2 overs. Singapore had their tails up at this point and even as Pranit Magar seemed to have got through his nervy start and found his stride, his partner, Aireebecame the first victim of Singapore’s spin attack making it 31-3. Magar departed twelve runs later for 23 (26) and a slim chance of an upset looked to be on the cards if Singapore could snare a timely two wickets with the score in the 40’s. However it was lack of scoreboard pressure that made the difference as Nepal crossed the line in the 18th over even after losing a further three wickets.
‘Skipper Sandeep Lamichhane and Man of the Match said that while he was happy that his team had won the match, he was a bit disappointed in how they went about the chase of the relatively low total and losing as many wickets as they did. When asked about his second career five wicket haul, he felt that the wicket was spin friendly and it was just a matter of putting the ball in the right areas. He further added that he was looking forward to the next match as he is sure he will see a Nepal playing to its full potential’
In the other fixture at the Indian Association, Afghanistan’s bowling attack were rampant as they decimated the Malaysian batting line up to skittle them out for 53 in 21.5 overs. Malaysian captain, Virandeep Singh top scored with 19 (28) while extras from Afghanistan was the second highest contributor to the Malaysian total at 14.Five Malaysian batters found themselves returning to the pavilion without troubling the scorers. Afghan bowlers Yosuf Zazi and Mujeeb Ur Rehman claiming seven scalps and only conceding 15 runs between them in 11.5 overs.
Opening bowler, Syed Aziz had his Malaysian team mates believing the impossible in the very first over when his 3rd and 4th deliveries claimed two wickets, leaving the Afghans on a very precarious 2-2 in 1 over. This did not seem to deter Afghanistan’s number four,Rasool (32* off 18) who launched an offensive on the Malaysian bowling attack that took Afghanistan home as early as the 6th over and earning his nation a comprehensive eight wicket victory. Opening bowler, Yusof Zazi awarded the Man of the Match for his impressive figures of 4 for 10 off just 4 overs.
Afghanistan will take on hosts Singapore at the Indian Association while Nepal will encounter Malaysia at the Singapore Cricket Club in the second round of fixtures on the 18th of July 2017.
For results, live scores and information on the ICC U19 CWC 2018 Division 1 - Asia please go to: