Nepal on the edge of U-19 cricket heaven
Emerging phoenix
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KATHMANDU, FEB 06 -
By the look of things so far, Nepal’s U-19 team looks poised to accomplish its mission. Just two matches remain to be won for it to grab the title in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup.
Prithu Baskota’s team left for Thailand with the mission of retrieving lost glory. The U-19 team’s solid record of four back-to-back triumphs in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup which began in 2001 came to a sad end two years ago when Afghanistan shattered Nepal’s hopes of a fifth title by routing the latter in the semis.
On Friday that score was settled when Nepal humiliated Afghanistan by six wickets. The colts have not just bagged the matches but have done so in blazing style.
The opener against UAE where they bowled the opponent out for 87 runs and sealed the match by nine wickets was a glimpse of better things to come from the Nepali team.
The best match by far is the second one for Nepal who showed improvement in their batting. Fazlur Khan, who has turned out to be the find of the tournament, stroked a century off just 99 balls while two other batsmen reached past the eighties and Nepal clocked up a massive 391 runs.
Khan, who has struck the ball with immaculate precision so far, could well be answer to the problem of the opening pair which the senior team has been trying to adjust so far.
From the second match onwards, it’s the batting that has taken centrestage and which is definitely a good sign for cricket here. As the problem in the past had been the batting, this time all batsmen have chipped in at crucial moments and that is the highlight of the tournament for Nepal.
As for bowling, seamer Avinash Karn and spinner Rahul Kumar Viswakarma who claimed eight wickets against Thailand on Saturday are the stars to watch out for.
If the boys don’t lose their heads at the recent success and continue this fiery batting and disciplined bowling, the title is just two more matches away leaving the door for the mini world cup ajar.
After defeating Test playing nations like South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand, who knows Nepal might well keep the tag of giantkiller intact and add one more test team to the glory list.
Posted on: 2011-02-06 08:45
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