KATHMANDU, Aug 28: Nepal U-19 cricket team suffered a three-wicket loss at the hands of Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) U-23 cricket team in the first practice match played at Sinhalese Sports Club Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
SSC chased the target of 241 runs in the last ball of the match in 42-over per side match to complete the win.
Krishan Sanjula and Avishka Senadeera registered half-centuries.
Sanjula contributed 62 runs off 69 deliveries whereas Senadeera chipped with 76-ball off 52 runs. Similarly, Thevindu Senarathne smashed three fours and sixes each to propel the home team to the victory.
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Nepal’s all-rounder Pawan Sarraf picked up three wickets supported by Kamal Singh Airee, Surya Tamang and Sagar Dhakal’s a wicket each. Rashid Khan was wicket-less in his eight overs in the match.
Earlier, SSC won the toss and invited Nepal to bat first in a delayed match due to wet caused by overnight rain. Nepal’s former captain Aasif Sheikh led the batting charts with a dominating 88 runs off 75 deliveries which included five fours and sixes each. He shared a crucial partnership with Sundeep Jora who scored 33 runs off 37 deliveries which included four boundaries and a six.
Similarly, opening batsmen Rit Gautam and Sarraf scored 31 and 30 runs respectively to take the team ahead steadily. Finishers Hari Bahadur Chauhan and Bhim Sarki chipped with unbeaten 18 and 15 runs to take Nepal’s score to 240 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allocated 42 overs.
Sri Lankans Sandruwan Chinthaka, Asel Kalutunga and Rasanjana Silva shared two wickets each whereas Thilan Prashan supported picking up a wicket during the first innings.
Nepal will play its second practice match against Baduralia Cricket Club at Surrey Ground in Maggon, Colombo in Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Nepal is in Sri Lanka to participate in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup to be held from September 5 to 14.
The batting consultant from India, Apurva Desai has joined the team in Sri Lanka where Nepal is playing few practice matches before the tournament kicks off next week.
Nepal is placed with host team Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Group B for the marquee youth Asian cup. The top two teams after the single round-robin league will reach the semifinals. The final match has been scheduled for
September 14.
