Skipper Dev Khanal led from the front with a gritty half-century as Nepal defeated Afghanistan in a thriller at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Buffalo Park.
Dev Khanal scored 58 off 89 balls as Nepal beat Afghanistan to qualify for the Super Six stage of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Image: X / @CricketNep
Nepal cricket team defeated Afghanistan in a thriller in an ICC Under-19 cricket match in East London on Friday to collect their first win of the tournament. It was a low-scoring thriller at Buffalo Park but Nepal did their everything before overcoming Afghanistan by just one wicket to seal their spot in the Super Six stage of the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.
Afghanistan had earlier won the toss and opted to bat, but would soon rue their decision to do so courtesy their horrific collapse. Aakash Chand (5/34) was Nepal’s pick of the bowlers, running through Afghanistan’s top and middle-order to restrict them to 43/6 at one stage. Naseer Khan (31), Allah Ghanzafar (37) and Faridoon Dawoodzai (29) provided some resistance in the end, but Dipesh Kandel finished with two wickets to bundle the Afghans out for 145.
Nepal weren’t off to the best of starts in their reply as well. Nepal were restricted to 86/5 at one stage following wickets from Dawoodzai, Khalil Ahmed and Nasir Khan, but skipper Dev Khanal led from the front with a patient knock of 58 that came in 89 balls.
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Khanal was however dismissed in the 37th over to leave Nepal at 127/7, but Dipak Bohara (27) ans Subhash Bhandari (9) eventually lead Nepal over the finish line. With the defeat, Afghanistan finish the group stage with no wins after three games.
