KATHMANDU, September 17: Nepal defeated Hong Kong in the summit clash of the ongoing ACC U-19 Eastern Region Cricket Tournament to crowned champions on Sunday. Nepal had already secured its berth in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup reaching the final which also will be held in Malaysia in November.
Pranit Thapa Magar (19) scored a crucial couple of sixes towards the end of the dwindling chase of 77 runs as Nepal thumped Hong Kong by five wickets in the 15th over.Skipper Dipendra Singh Airee (22) and opening batsman Sandeep Sunar (19) made important contirbutions too scoring four boundaries each. Anil Kumar Shah chipped in with 16 quick fire runs which included two boundaries.Hong Kong bowler Karandeep Singh picked up first three wickets of Nepal innings to make the chase as difficult as possible supported by skipper Jhathavedh's two.
Earlier, Sandeep Lamichhane and Shahab Alam shared three wickets each to limit Hong Kong batsmen for 76 runs in 33rd over. Anil Sah and Dipendta Airee also chipped in with one wicket each as a couple of Hong Kong batsmen were caught short of their crease. Opening batsman Harpreet Singh (20) top-scored for Hong Kong as skipper Jhathavedh SS and Waqas Khan contributed 16 and 14 runs respectively to Hong Kong's total.
Nepal vs Sri Lanka (Live video)
Sandeep Lamichhane was adjudged man of the final along with the man of the series for his 16 scalps in five games. Dipendra Singh Airee was adjudged best bowler if the tournament finishing with 13 wickets in five games.
Nepal U-19's next assignment will be Asia Cup featuring five Asian Test playing nations including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and the champions of the Eastern Region and Western Region of ACC U-19 along with host nation Malaysia.
Nepal and Hong Kong defeated Malaysia and Singapore in the semifinal matches on Saturday to secure their berths in the final on Kinrara Oval Cricket Ground, Kuala Lumpur.
