Nepal loses 2nd practice match against Afghanistan

KATHMANDU, Jan 14: Nepali U-19 cricket team lost both of its practice matches against Afghanistan U-19 team, losing the last match by 41 runs at St Stephen College Ground, Mori Gate, in New Delhi on Wednesday. Nepal had lost its first practice match by 83 runs on Monday against the same team. Both the teams are preparing for the ICC U-19 World Cup to be played in Bangladesh from January 22 to February 14.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Afghanistan scored 212/10 in 49.5 overs with Shamsur Rahman scoring 75 runs off 128 balls that included eight fours. Tariq Stanikzai contributed 37 runs facing 60 balls and Waheed Shafaq added 30 runs from 27 balls. Both Tariq and Waheed hit a six and three fours. Nepal gave 21 extra runs.


Tariq and Shamsur had 86 runs partnership between them for the fifth wicket to anchor the Afghan innings.

Kushal Bhurtel bagged the highest three wickets, while Dipesh Shrestha and Nandan Yadav claimed two wickets each. Dipendra Singh Airee claimed a wicket for Nepal.

In reply, Nepal was bundled out for 171 runs in 41.3 overs despite seven batsmen reaching double figures with Sunil Dhamala scored the highest 45 runs off 59 runs.

Nepal had impressive start in its run chase as Sunil, who hit a six and six boundaries, shared 48 runs with Sandeep Sunar (17 off 20) for the first wicket and added 27 runs with Yogendra Karki (15 off 17) for the second wicket. However, the middle order batsmen failed to capitalize the solid foundation of the top order.

However, Nepal gave some resistance with a 41-run partnership between Aarif Sheikh (28 off 42) and Dipendra (23 off 31) for the sixth wicket.

Zia Ur Rehman Akbar claimed the highest three wickets for Afghanistan, while Karim Janat and Zahir Pakteen pocketed two wickets each to restrict Nepal.

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