Nepal beat Afghanistan by one wicket to progress to the Super Sixes stage of the Under-19 World Cup at the Full Member side’s expense.
The game was a virtual knockout, with both sides beaten in their first two games. Afghanistan had already had a taste of a low-scoring thriller, with a pre-delivery run out not enough to snatch victory over New Zealand. The Black Caps chased 93 with one wicket to spare.
At 43-6, it looked as if Afghanistan might not even reach 92, but the tail rallied. First AM Ghazanfar smashed 37 off 21 to take them to 85-6, but two more quick wickets set them back. Captain Naseer Khan Maroofkhil and No.10 Faridoon Dawoodzai combined for a doughty half-century stand to give themselves 145 to defend. For Nepal, Akash Chand was the star with the ball, taking 5-34.
In reply, Afghanistan struck early, Nepal sinking to 24-3 despite attempting caution. Dawoodzai struck first, bowling Arjun Kumal for 10 off 14, before Khalil Ahmed dismissed the remainder of the top three. Gulsan Jha was bowled for one off 12, while Bipin Rawal fell for two off 19.
Captain Dev Khanal and No.5 Aakash Tripathi then combined for a 49-run stand. The latter fell for 16 while the former carried on to a half-century. However, when he fell, Nepal were 127-7 and Afghanistan sensed a heist.
Our sport, it really is something else. Stunning day at #U19WorldCup with Nepal taking the first big upset of the tournament, adding another Test Nation to their list at U19 World Cups & West Indies turn over England in a thriller too.
Really been a cracking tournament so far https://t.co/4EAv2tlZl2
— Andrew Leonard (@CricketBadge) January 26, 2024
The closing stages were agonising as Nepal crawled towards the target. Dipak Bohara made 27 off 42 but was bowled by Dawoodzai with six runs to get. Then with two runs to go, Chand was bowled by the same bowler.
But Subash Bhandari held firm, and eventually hit the winning runs to finish with nine off 29.
Nepal progress along with Pakistan and New Zealand to one of two Super Six groups. They will be joined by India, Bangladesh, and one of Ireland or USA. However, they face an uphill battle, carrying forward no points and with the top two teams from Group A to face.
Nepal have progressed from the group stages of the Under-19 World Cup before, most recently in 2016 when they finished eighth. However, the result is still a shock. Afghanistan were semi-finalists in 2022 and 2018, but have been consigned to the 13th-place play-off this time around.
