KATHMANDU: Nepal has secured a place in the U-19 World Cup Cricket 2024 Super-6 by defeating Afghanistan by one wicket.
In the final match of the group stage on Friday, Nepal defeated Afghanistan by one wicket, securing the third position in Group D to reach the Super-6.
Now, in the Super-6, Nepal will compete against India, Bangladesh, and Ireland from Group A.
In the challenging pursuit of defeating Afghanistan, Nepal successfully chased the target of 146 runs with 1 wicket remaining in 44.4 overs.
Captain Dev Khanal led the team to victory, scoring a half-century. He struck 7 fours in his 89-ball innings before getting out as the seventh wicket.
Prior to that, opening pair Arjun Kumal scored 10 runs, Bipin Rawal scored 3 runs, and Gulshan Jha was out for 1 run, putting pressure on Nepal. However, Captain Dev Khanal played patiently.
Deepak Dumre was dismissed with 5 runs, and Dipesh Kandel was out with 4 runs.
Deepak Bohora, needing 6 runs for Nepal to win, was dismissed with a 27-run partnership.
In the last over of 44 overs, Akash Chand also got out making Nepal lose its ninth wicket. At that point, Nepal needed 2 runs to win.
Subhas Bhandari contributed 9 run not out to make Nepal’s victory possible.
In the first innings, Akash Chand, with an outstanding bowling performance, took 5 wickets in 8 overs, giving away 34 runs.
Akash became the fourth-highest wicket-taker for Nepal in U19 World Cups by taking five wickets.
Before this, Rahul Bishwokarma took 6 wickets against Papua New Guinea in 2012, and Bhuwan Karki took 5 wickets against Namibia in 2016. This was the best bowling performance for Nepal in the U19 World Cup.
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