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Nepal too hot to handle for Malaysia
- Chettri smashes half century, Irfan notches 3-wkt
KATHMANDU, JAN 14 - Opener Mahesh Chhettri and captain Paras Khadka’s brilliant batting has raised hopes for entering the second round of the U-17 Asia Cup for the first time as Nepal beat Malaysia by 4 wickets in the opening day at the Vishakhapattanam of India today.
Mahesh completed half-century while Paras hit 47* as Nepal successfully chased Malaysia’s 137/9 with more than 15 overs remaining in the first match of Group A. Malaysia opted to bat first and could only manage a lowly total as Nepali bowlers bowled their hearts to deny them runs.
Mahesh hit 5 boundaries for his 54 off 75 balls while Paras scored 4 fours in his 66-ball-knock. They added 98 runs for the third wicket before Mahesh was caught by Ishaq off Mohd Noor’s bowling. They stabalised the innings after Pawas Das and Sarad Vesawkar went cheaply within 23 runs.
After the departure of Mahesh, Malaysia were upbeat and claimed three more wickets in keep Nepal under pressure. Dhan B Chhettri and Antim Thapa were bowled out by Zamir while Raj Shrestha fell short of crease as Nepal lost three wickets in a space of 3 runs. However, Paras and Irfan Siddique protected further loss.
Irfan was also the one who spearheaded bowling with three wickets. He removed his victims in successasion within the space of 20 runs after Bantu Bataju and Paras each took a wicket to make it 56/2 to 76/5.
Bantu got rid of opener Mohd Noor who scored 15 partnering Fadlib Hashim for a 37-run opening partnership while Paras trapped Mohd Mazalan leg before who went without scoring. Irfan sent back opener Hashim, who topscored for Malaysia with 27 with 4 fours in 66 balls, Modh Shariff and Zamir Yusuf.
Two Malaysian batsmen ran out while Angel Acharya picked up his first international wicket before the 9th pair added unbeaten 23 runs.
Nepal will play against Qatar on Wednesday. Win against Qatar will ensure Nepal’s qualification to the second round to join India and Pakistan.
In a Group C match, Singapore beat Iran by 9 wickets at the Chinnasamy Stadium in Bangalore. Iran was bowled out for mere 31 runs as Mayank Dalakoti claimed seven wickets. Singapore won the match in 3.3 overs.Posted on: 2004-01-15 03:37
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