ICC U19 World Cup: Nepal shock New Zealand

Defeat Kiwis by 32 runs; Pakistan, India also emerge victorious.

DUBAI: Qualifying side Nepal caused the first major upset of the International Cricket Council U19 Cricket World Cup when they stunned New Zealand by 32 runs in Fatullah on Thursday.

Nepal, who won the qualifiers in Malaysia last year to return to the World Cup after missing the previous tournament in 2014, bowled out the Kiwis for 206 after they were set a 239-run target.

While captain Raju Rijal top-scored for Nepal with 48, seamer Dipender Airee’s three wickets and off-spinner Prem Tamang’s two helped clinch the dramatic win.



Dale Phillips scored 41 to make a late victory bid for New Zealand before he was last out to spark joyous celebrations in the Nepalese camp.“This was a great win for us,” said Rijal. “We fielded brilliantly to effect three run-outs and that turned the match for us.”

Pakistan down Afghanistan

Leg-spinner Shadab Khan grabbed four wickets and seamer Hasan Mohsin took three as Pakistan crushed Afghanistan by six wickets in Sylhet.

Shadab finished with figures of 4-9, while Mohsin took 3-24 as Afghanistan were bundled out for 126 after being sent in to bat first.

Tariq Stanikzai scored a fine 53, but eight batsmen failed to reach double-figures against the sustained pressure applied by the Pakistanis.



Pakistan surpassed the modest target in the 32nd over with Zeeshan Malik making 29, Hasan Mohsin an unbeaten 28 and Mohammad Umar 25.

Shadab, playing his first U19 World Cup, admitted he was nervous at the start but settled down to return with excellent figures. “I tried to bowl as straight as possible without trying too many things,” he said. “I am happy with my performance but more importantly we achieved a convincing win.”

Indian register win against Ireland

Three-time champions India overcame a shaky start against Ireland to open its campaign with a 79-run victory in Mirpur.

India were reduced to 55-4 after being sent in to bat, before Sarfaraz Khan (74) and Washington Sundar (62) pulled their side out of trouble with a 110-run stand.

Irish seamers Rory Anders and Joshua Little picked up three wickets each, but tail-ender Zeeshan Ansari boosted India’s total with a run-a-ball 36 at the end.

Ireland were bowled out for 189 in reply as Rahul Batham took 3-15 and Avesh Khan finished with 2-24.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2016.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.