KATHMANDU, March 31: Andhra Pradesh U-19 state cricket team won the sixth and the last match of the practice match series by a wicket in nail-biting finish against the Nepal U-19 national cricket team held at Andhra Pradesh Cricket Association Ground in India on Saturday. 

Nepal’s U-19 cricket team’s Andhra tour has been concluded with the visiting team winning four of the six practice matches. 

The Johnny Basha and V Karthik Reddy shared a partnership of 33 runs for the last wicket chasing the target of 253 runs to complete a thrilling victory against the visiting team on Saturday.  

Basha finished on unbeaten 32 runs from 30 deliveries including a four and two sixes supported by Reddy’s 12 runs from 10 deliveries. 

Off-spinning all-rounder Pawan Sarraf, who picked up three wickets, was Nepal’s key bowler including the top scorer Nitesh Kumar who scored 74 runs from 108 deliveries. 

Kumar smashed four boundaries and two sixes before Sarraf uprooted his stumps. Similarly, P Subramanyam, Ram Prasad and B Dharani Kumar scored 29, 27 and 32 runs respectively to help Andhra finish the series with a win. SMD Kamil also chipped with 22 runs.

Sarraf was supported by disciplined bowling of spinners Akash Chand and Surya Tamang who shared a wicket each. Pace bowler Pratish GC was particularly lethal in his eight overs conceding 37 runs and registering two maiden overs and picking up two wickets.  Likewise, Sagar Dhakal was wicket-less in his 10 overs in the match conceding 45 runs.

Earlier, youngest batsman ever to score a half-century in T20Is, Sundeep Jora, scored 69 runs to help Nepal post 252 runs in 50 overs for the loss of nine wickets. Jora smashed four boundaries and three sixes during his 67-ball stay. 

Nepal’s total was boosted by Khan’s cameo toward the end scoring 44 runs from as many deliveries including three boundaries and two sixes.

Similarly, wicket-keeper batsman Hari Bahadur Chauhan and Avishek Basnet scored 35 runs each from 68 and 51 deliveries respectively. Young batsman Rit Gautam made 22 runs from 34 deliveries at top of the innings for Nepal.

Andhra bowler I Ismail picked up a four-wicket-haul which included the wickets of Gautam, Basnet, Khan and GC for six runs. Ismail was supported by Basha’s two wickets. M Bharghav, J Durga Kumar and Kamil shared a wicket each.

This is Nepal’s second loss in six practice matches against Andhra. Nepal had earlier lost the second match. Nepal is in India to prepare for the upcoming ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Asia Division 1, 2019 to be held in Malaysia from April 10-20.

 
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