ACC U-19 Premier Cup: Nepal enters final

Kathmandu: Nepal has secured its spot in the final of the ACC U-19 Premier Cup Cricket Tournament. In the semi-final match held in Malaysia, Nepal defeated Japan by 144 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

With its entry into the final, Nepal has qualified to compete in the U-19 Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan.

The match was affected by rain when Nepal had scored 140 runs with the loss of two wickets in 25 overs. As the rain continued to delay the game, the stipulated 50 overs were reduced to 22, with a target of 187 runs set for Japan to win. In response, Japan managed to score only 43 runs in 11.5 overs, losing all their wickets.

None of Japan’s players, apart from Shotaro Hiratsuka (15) and Kiefer Yamamoto (13), could reach a double-digit score.

Nepal’s Hemant Dhami and Dipesh Kandel took three wickets each, while Subash Bhandari took two, and Akash Chand took one wicket.

Deepak Bohora was the top scorer for Nepal, amassing 79 runs with 10 boundaries and two sixes in 70 balls.

Similarly, Deepak and Akash Tripathi partnered for 93 runs for the second wicket, with Akash contributing 35 runs, while Arjun Kumal made 10 runs and Dev Khanal scored eight.

Nepal will face the UAE in the final on Oct 24. The UAE reached the final by defeating Singapore in another semi-final match.