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KARACHI, July 27: In a repeat of the 2001 Under-19 Youth Asia Cup, Nepal overcame the spirited challenge of Malaysia in a truncated final at National Stadium on Sunday.
Nepal’s 30-run victory in the 2003 edition of Asian qualifying tournament earned them a well-deserved place in next year’s Youth World Cup in Bangladesh.
The Nepalese, the best team on show here, had also performed with great distinction in the previous World Cup hosted by New Zealand in early 2002. They scored a shock win over Pakistan in the preliminary round before losing to Zimbabwe in the Plate final, having beaten Bangladesh in the semifinal.
The current monsoon spell for once relented, allowing a 25-over per side encounter which started after lunch at 2.05pm.
Nepal, put into bat by Malaysian skipper Eszrafiq bin Azis, made 155 for five with Man-of-the-Match Sharad Veswakar making 55 off 51 deliveries, striking two fours and one six.
Opener Yashwant Subedi also continued his good form. He struck a 47-ball 36 with the aid of three boundaries. Skipper Shakti Gauchan weighed in with a breezy 27 off 20 deliveries, which included one six.
Off-spinner Maxwell Bala claimed three for 25 in five overs.
Malaysia looked visibly nervous and lost first three wickets for just 12 runs. Manjeet Shrestha was chiefly responsible of putting Nepal in control with those triple strikes.
However, Ariffin bin Ramly raised hopes with a splendid knock of 58 during a fifth-wicket partnership of 66 with Sathiswaran (27 off 29 balls, three fours). His 74-ball innings was laced with four fours and a solitary six before becoming Shrestha’s fourth victim.
Malaysia in the end mustered 125 for six in their 25 overs.
Governor of Sindh Dr Ishratul Ibad was the chief guest on the occasion and gave away the trophies.
Nepalese opener Kanishka Chaugai was declared the tournament’s best batsman, Kuwait’s Waqas Jamil was adjudged the best bowler, Nepal’s Manoj Katuwal the best wicket-keeper while Mohammad Emran of Qatar and Mohammad Shukri bin Abdul Rahim shared the best fielder’s award. Omani all-rounder Adnan Ilyas was the recipient of the Man-of-the-Tournament trophy.
NEPAL:
K. Chaugai c Sathiswaran b Singh 14
Y. Subedi c Eszrafiq b Bala 36
S. Veswakar c and b Bala 55
S.P. Gauchan c Ramly b Vickneswaran 27
M. Shrestha c Shukri b Bala 1
D. Khatri not out 5
P. Khadka not out 7
EXTRAS (LB-1, W-9) 10
TOTAL (for five wkts, 25 overs) 155
FALL OF WKTS: 1-31, 2-90, 3-120, 4-133, 5-145.
DID NOT BAT: L. Lama, Irfan Siddiqui, R. Kumar, M. Katuwal.
BOWLING: Manrick Singh 4-0-23-1; Vickneswaran 4-1-19-1; bin Arudin 3-0-19-0; Sathiswaran 1-0-8-0; Shukri bin Abdul Rahim 5-0-34-0; Bala 5-0-25-3; Eszrafiq bin Azis 3-0-26-0.
MALAYSIA:
S. Vickneswaran c Gauchan b Shrestha 10
Rosman bin Zakaria c Subedi b Shrestha 0
Eszrafiq bin Azis c Kumar b Gauchan 2
M. Anwar bin Arudin lbw b Shrestha 11
M. Ariffin bin Ramly lbw b Shrestha 58
Sathisawaran st Katuwal b Gauchan 27
Manrick Singh not out 3
M.Radzman Zabri not out 4
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-3, W-5, NB-1) 10
TOTAL (for six wkts, 25 overs) 125
FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-11, 3-12, 4-34, 5-100, 6-119.
DID NOT BAT: M.S. Bala, M. Shukri bin Abdul Rahim, S. Kumar.
BOWLING: Shrestha 5-1-17-4; Khatri 5-0-11-0; Kumar 3-0-18-0; Gauchan 5-0-35-2; Lama 5-0-25-0; Irfan Siddiqui 2-0-15-0.
RESULT: Nepal won by 30 runs.
UMPIRES: Aleem Dar and Nadeem Ghauri (both Pakistan).
MATCH REFEREE: R.J. Ratnayake (Sri Lanka).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Sharad Veswakar (Nepal).
MAN-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT: Adnan Ilyas (Oman).
