KATHMANDU, Sept 16: A 78-run knockout haul from Pawan Sarraf and four wickets from Sagar Dhakal inspired Nepal U-19 cricket team’s first win in Lucknow against Afghanistan in the ongoing Quadrangular U-19 One Day Series with 25 runs on Sunday. 

At the Ekana International Cricket Stadium B, Nepal won the toss, elected to bat first, and presented a target of 190 runs for the loss of all its wickets. In reply, Afghanistan failed to chase the target and was all out on 164 runs for the loss of all its wickets in 47.4 overs. 

Nepal made a poor start to its innings as the first three batsmen failed to reach double figures. Openers Trit Raj Das and Aasif Sheikh scored four and three runs respectively, while Arun Airee was out for a duck. 

Sarraf scored the most for Nepal with 78 runs off 96 balls including a six and 10 fours, while he was supported by Sundeep Zora who added 28 runs off 31 deliveries with a six and three boundaries. Also,  Rashid Khan hit 24 runs off 49 balls which included two fours, while Lokesh Bam contributed 16 runs off 35 balls with two fours. 

Similarly, Bhim Sarki added 13 runs off 29 balls with two boundaries, while Kamal Singh Airee hit nine runs off 20 balls with two fours. Also, Kishor Mahato added a run for Nepal. 

Sagar Dhakal went out for a duck after facing 10 balls. 

Nawid Mohammad Kabir was the pick of the Afghanistan bowlers as he took three wickets giving away 36 runs in 10 overs with an economy of 3.60. Likewise, Abid Mohammadi and Arif Khan Dwalatzai picked up two wickets each, while Usman Ghani and Samiullah Zawad claimed a wicket each. 

In reply, captain Ijaz Ahmad Mehran hit the most for Nepal with 57 runs off 96 balls including two sixes and two fours, while he was supported by opener Reyaz Hassan who scored 38 runs off 61 balls with a six and five fours. Likewise, Abdul Rahman Rahmani added 37 runs off 46 deliveries which included two sixes and two fours, while Dwalatzai hit 10 runs off 18 balls. All the other batsmen failed to reach the double figures. 

BRIEF SCORES
Quadrangular U-19 one day series in Lucknow 
Nepal U-19 189 (49.3 ovs)
Sarraf 78, Zora 28, Kabir 36/3 
Afghanistan U-19 164 (47.4 ovs)
Mehran 57, Hassan 38, Dhakal 29/4 
Nepal won by 25 runs
Player of the match: Sagar Dhakal 
 

Sagar Dhakal was the standout bowler for Nepal as he pocketed four wickets giving away 29 runs in 10 overs with an economy of 2.90. He also had three maiden overs. Likewise, Kamal Airee and Khan picked up two wickets each, while Sarraf claimed one. 

After the completion of all three rounds of the matches, Nepal is in the third place with two points, while India A is first with nine points and India B is second with five points. 

Nepal will now take on Afghanistan again in the third-place playoff match, while India A will take on India B for the title on Tuesday.

 
• U19_Quadrangular_One_Day_Series
 
• Lucknow
 
• Afghanistan