Victorious Nepal Team. Photo: NepalSportsPhoto.com

 

Malaysia U-17 Innings 124 All Out (Overs 37.1)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
Z Norazmi+	c P Baskota	b P Airee	31	39	6	0
F Rosmanizam	c K Gurung	b B Karki	5	29	0	0
K Goonasageran*	st A Pariyar	b R Bhatta	28	59	4	0
K Azhar	c K Karki	b P Baskota	9	20	1	0
S Ramli	c A Pariyar	b P Baskota	2	6	0	0
A Adnan	lbw	b P Baskota	1	8	0	0
K Kumar		c&b R Bhatta	1	20	0	0
R Samsudin	run out P Baskota		21	19	2	1
A Rusli		b A Karn	9	18	1	0
P Nadaesan	run out P Airee		1	4	0	0
B Zulkifeli	not out		0	0	0	0
extras		(b1 lb2 w13 nb0)	16
TOTAL		10 wickets for	124

 

FOW

1-34(F Rosmanizam) 2-40(Z Norazmi) 3-68(K Azhar) 4-73(S Ramli) 5-77(A Adnan)

6-86(K Goonasageran) 7-87(K Kumar) 8-121(R Samsudin) 9-123(A Rusli)

10-124(P Nadaesan)

 

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
K Karki	4	2	14	0	-	-
A Karn	5	0	15	1	1	-
B Karki	8	2	18	1	1	-
P Airee	4.1	0	31	1	9	-
P Baskota	8	2	16	3	-	-
R Bhatta	6	0	15	2	-	-
B Dali	2	0	12	0	2	-

 

Nepal U-17 Innings 125/0 (Overs 23.3)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
S Pun	not out		65	60	7	3
A Pariyar+	not out		53	81	7	0
P Baskota*	dnb		-
P Airee	dnb		-
N Chaudhary	dnb		-
K Gurung	dnb		-
B Karki	dnb		-
B Dali	dnb		-
K Karki	dnb		-
R Bhatta	dnb		-
A Karn	dnb		-
extras		(b1 lb2 w4 nb0)	7
TOTAL		0 wickets for	125

 

FOW

 

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
R Samsudin	5	1	28	0	-	-
K Kumar	3	0	14	0	3	-
P Nadaesan	8	0	30	0	1	-
A Rusli	3.3	0	16	0	-	-
K Azhar	2	0	12	0	-	-
A Adnan	2	0	22	0	-	-

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Nepal scored 144/9 in alloted 40 overs after electing to bat first and bowled out UAE for 123 runs in 39 overs to set Thurday’s final with Malaysia, who defeated Qatar by 55 runs at IOE Ground in the other semifinal.

However, Nepal’s victory, watched by thousands at the ground and broadcasted live by Nepal Television, did not come easy. The match went tense and UAE looked like taking the victory route many times before finally Nepal settled the result with the fighting spirit.

After electing to bat first, Nepal had to see yet another dismal batting performance. Both openers, Sagar Pun and Kriten Gurung were already back at the pavilion when score was 20. Akash Singh Pariyar and captain Prithu Baskota then made up the early loss with the biggest partnership of the innings.

Both hit occasional boundaries and played patiently before Prithu (25 off 41 balls) got out. Pradeep Airee then made a brief stay hitting a straight six and a four for his 13 off 11 deliveries. He too got carried away and gave a catch at long-on boundary in an attempt to clear the rope.

Nischal Chaudhary too did not stay long and Akash edged one to keeper as Nepal struggled to reach 100. Akash scored 31 off 46 but Bibek Dali and Krishna Karki followed him soon making it 99/8 in no time. Rochak Bhatta did not score a run but stayed for 15-run partnership with Bhuwan Karki before giving UAE captain Salaar Waqar his third wicket.

Bhuwan and last man Abinash Karn rescued Nepal and went on to add 30 runs staying till the end as Nepal posted a fighting total. “We are struggling because no one is getting big scores,” Roy Dias, coach of Nepal, said after the match.

Along with Waqar, Siddarth Shekhar took three wickets and Shaaz Ahmed grabbed two for UAE. “We gave away a few extras and the last wicket partnership of 30 runs was crucial,” UAE coach Shah Hussain Afridi Khan commented. UAE gave 26 extras runs including 23 wides.

UAE reply began disastrously as well. After Krishna and Abinash failed to pick wickets, Pradeep Airee, who had not bowled much in the event due to ankle injury, came in seventh over and got the captain for 8. The next over, he grabbed two wickets as UAE went down to 25/3.

Pradeep Airee (5/29)

Then it was UAE’s game with R Abraham and SS Gir. The pair played professionally without taking risks and hitting balls all around the ground at their will for singles. With them batting, UAE were looking for an easy victory.

Prithu tried everything, changing bowlers now and then but to no avail until he decided to get back to one of his openers. Abinash switched the end for a lucky effect. He castles Gir’s stumps ending his 28 runs knock and 58-run partnership and the very next ball trapped Shekhar.

Shaaz Ahmed (11) tried to get back UAE on track along with opener Abraham but he was undone by Prithu. Once wickets start falling from one end and required run-rate started going high, UAE batsmen could barely held the pressure. Waheed Ahmed was out on zero, yet another wicket for Pradeep, and Ritik Bagchi fell to Prithu scoring three.

“Our middle-order collapsed and there was no support for set batsman,” Khan said. The run-out of Abraham, who single-handedly anchored the innings scoring 59 off 105 balls, then ended whatsoever chance remaining for UAE, who still needed 26 runs with two wickets in hand.

Pradeep completed the fine spell with yet another wicket to grab man of the match award and promised to do better in his batting in the finals. “They were winning the game, but the batsmen panicked and Nepali, always the fighter, keep it tight,” Dias said. “I am pleased with the boys for their fight.”

PHOTOS: Udipt Singh Chhetry/NepalSportsPhoto.com

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Rochak Bhatta celebrates a wicket.

Rochak took four wickets in his seven overs spell to bowl out Hong Kong for 49. It was second defeat of Hong Kong in three matches and they are now out of race for last four. Qatar beat Singapore by three wickets at IOE Ground to become the second semifinalists from Group A.

Regardless of the result of the match between Nepal and Singapore, Nepal will proceed to the semifinal as the group winners. Even if Nepal loses on Sunday, Nepal will be atop the table for it’s win over Qatar.

“Nepal outplayed us,” Sher Lama, Hong Kong’s Nepali coach said after the match. The team was unlucky as they lost to Qatar on Thursday giving away a six in the last ball.

Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first. But any intention of Prithu Baskota to put on a big total was hit hard by early wickets as batsmen went into selecting bad shots. Hong Kong bowlers maintained disciplined and fielded well.

Nepal was in no time 35/5. Then Akash Pariyar (14) and Bhuwan Karki (16) played a patient partnership adding 40 valuable runs. It was Akash’s run-out that began the wreckage. Nepal lost the final five wickets for two runs finishing the innings at 77 in 23.1 overs.

Bhuwan Karki plays a shot.

The other notable contributor was Kriten Gurung who scored 12 as an opener.

“When I see other team, I feel our batting is the best, yet it did not click today,” Roy Dias, seemingly unpleased after the innings said. “Selection of shots was very, very wrong.”

“Three stupid run-outs also did not help us,” Dias added. Four batsmen including captain Prithu did not open their account. Hong Hong’s pacer Mohd Aizaz Khan was pick of the bowler for his 3/21 while his new ball partner Uwaise Ur Rahman got two.

Hong Kong’s innings did not begin well. Dias’ had said Abinash Karn a player to watch before the event, and Abinash showed glimpses of that taking two early wickets as Hong Kong went down to 17/2. At lunch, they were 27/2 in 14 overs.

‘Still a long way to go’ was what Lama told Dias during their crossover at lunch and it proved he was right. The introduction of spinners after six overs did the trick as they blocked runs.

After lunch, they started taking wickets. Skipper Miten Khatri was run out and then it was Rochak all over. He took next four wickets including that of Nizakat Khan (18) – the top scorer – and made it 43/7. “After fall of Nizakat, I felt we would win,” Dias said. “But the first three wickets to fall early was important.”

Prithu then re-introduced himself for a over and took two wickets while Bhuwan, who bowled really well giving away only six runs in 7 overs took the last wicket to bring Nepal a comprehensive victory at the end. “I had told my players to play as if they were defending 50,” Dias said. “And, they did.”

Prithu was all smiling to overcome a ‘batting flop’. “We flopped in batting, silly shots,” he said. “But I had faith on my bowlers.”

Prithu promised of better batting and fielding display in next matches. Nepal plays Singapore on Sunday.

PHOTOS: Udipt Singh Chhetry/NepalSportsPhoto.com

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Nepal U-17 Innings 77 All Out (Overs 23.1)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
K Gurung		b U Ur Rahman	12	27	2	0
S Pun	run out N Khan		7	7	1	0
P Baskota*	lbw	b MA Khan	0	15	0	0
P Airee	c S Chandra	b U Ur Rahman	4	6	1	0
N Chaudhary	c N Khan	b MA Khan	8	10	2	0
A Pariyar+	run out M Khatri		14	32	1	0
B Karki	lbw	b K Shah	16	32	0	0
K Karki	lbw	b M Abernethy	0	5	0	0
B Dali	run out		0	1	0	0
R Bhatta	lbw	b MA Khan	0	1	0	0
A Karn	not out		2	4	0	0
extras		(b0 lb1 w12 nb1)	14
TOTAL		10 wickets for	77

 

FOW

1-13(S Pun) 2-22(K Gurung) 3-22(P Baskota) 4-35(P Airee) 5-35(N Chaudhary)

6-75(A Pariyar) 7-75(K Karki) 8-75(B Dali) 9-75(B Karki) 10-77(R Bhatta)

 

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
MA Khan	7.1	1	21	3	2	-
U Ur Rahman	8	2	29	2	3	-
S Ali	2	0	11	0	1	-
M Abernethy	3	1	6	1	1	-
N Khan	2	1	7	0	5	-
K Shah	1	0	2	1	-	-

 

Hong Kong U-17 Innings 49 All Out (Overs 31.2)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
S Chandra		b A Karn	1	8	0	0
M Abernethy		b A Karn	11	17	1	0
N Khan	lbw	b R Bhatta	18	57	1	0
M Khatri*+	run out P Airee		3	32	0	0
S Bhimsarya	lbw	b R Bhatta	2	13	0	0
SH Ali		b R Bhatta	0	5	0	0
MA Khan	c R Bhatta	b B Karki	0	28	0	0
S Ali	c K Karki	b R Bhatta	0	2	0	0
K Shah	c S Pun	b P Baskota	4	18	0	0
U Ur Rahman	c N Chaudhary	b P Baskota	0	2	0	0
S Khan	not out		0	6	0	0
extras		(b0 lb0 w10 nb0)	10
TOTAL		10 wickets for	49

 

FOW

1-4(S Chandra) 2-17(M Abernethy) 3-29(M Khatri) 4-34(S Bhimsarya) 5-36(SH Ali)

6-43(N Khan) 7-43(S Ali) 8-48(K Shah) 9-48(U Ur Rahman) 10-49(MA Khan)

 

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
K Karki	3	0	11	0	1	-
A Karn	3	0	9	2	3	-
B Karki	7.2	2	6	1	1	-
P Baskota	4	2	3	2	2	-
B Dali	7	1	16	0	1	-
R Bhatta	7	4	4	4	2	-

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Skipper Prithu Baskota vindicated his decision to bat first topscoring with 38 runs as Nepal posted a challenging total of 208/8 in the allotted 40 overs. His bowlers then proved the total to be impregnable dismissing the Qataris for 104 runs in 23.5 overs despite a majestic 72 from captain Tamoor Sajjad.

“It´s good to start with a win and get 200 runs. But the batsmen threw their wickets away after getting starts and the bowlers got excited after their skipper started to attack,” Nepal´s Sri Lankan coach Roy Dias said in his typical fashion after the match pointing at the scopes for improvement.

Nepal made a confident start adding 45 runs inside the first 10 overs through openers Sagar Pun and Kriten Gurung. Pun made 23 off 38 balls with three boundaries that included a cheeky Tendulkaresque upper-cut over the slip cordon but perished while trying to repeat the stroke off new ball bowler Rahul Ramesh presenting a routine catch to wicketkeeper Taha Muhammad.

Gurung then consolidated Nepal´s innings with his skipper adding 51 runs for the second wicket. Gurung played a few streaky shots along with some assured ones before being trapped lbw by spinner Ali Ishtiaq for 38 off 63 with six fours. Hard-hitting batsman Pradeep Airee was dismissed in the same over for two as Ishtiaq repeated the dose three balls later to revive Qatar´s hopes. But Baskota added another 50 runs for the fourth wicket in company of Nischal Chaudhary to put Nepal on its way to a commanding total.

Baskota played elegantly for his 38 made off 53 balls with six pleasant boundaries playing strokes all around the wicket. He was stumped off his opposite number while trying to up the ante. But Chaudhary continued the good work going on to make 34 off 48 and keeper batsman Akash Pariyar played a 13-ball cameo of 22 hitting four fours to take Nepal beyond the 200 mark.

“We made a good start and went on to make a good score that our bowlers could defend,” Baskota said.

Sajjad, Ramesh and Ishtiaq took a couple of wickets each for Qatar.

Chasing a formidable total, the Qatari batsmen were all at sea against the skillful Nepali bowlers with Sajjad being a glorious exception. Opening bowler Krishna Karki scalped three wickets in his first spell while his partner Avinash Karn was superb in his opening spell though it yielded just one wicket.

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“Pace bowling of Nepal was very good. The left-armer (Karn) was extraordinary and showed excellent skills to find yorkers regularly. It is not possible to have such skills at such an early age,” Qatar coach Mohammad Amjad Baig was lavish in praise of Nepali bowlers after assessing that Nepal made such a good total as only two of his four spinners clicked.

Spinner Bhuwan Karki also got three wickets in between the hammering from Sajjad while Airee made up for his batting failure chipping in with two wickets. Bhuwan may have had the last laugh when a tumbling Airee held on to Sajjad´s skier at cover on third attempt but Sajjad had already shown who the real master was clouting him for two his three massive sixes.

Sajjad, who has played in four tournaments for his senior national side, played power-packed shots to complete his fifty off 68 balls and went on to make 72 off 84 hitting 10 fours before being the last man to be dismissed. He seemed at equal ease dealing with both pace and spin and without his massive contribution the match would have ended much earlier and painfully for Qatar.

“Batting is always crucial. I have experience but all the other players were playing their first match on turf wicket as we don´t have facilities and grounds back home,” Sajjad, who was the runaway winner for the man-of-the-match award, tried to put things into perspective.

Sulaiman Khan and Abdul Rehman, who were the only two Qatari nationals in the squad full of Pakistanis and Indians, seemed to be just making the numbers to satisfy ICC regulations and came in at No 10 and 11 to bat having not bowled during Nepal´s completed innings of 40 overs.

Photos: Udipt Singh Chhetry/NepalSportsPhoto.com

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Nepal U-17 : 208/8 (Overs 40)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
K Gurung	lbw	b A Ishitaq	38	63	6	0
S Pun	c ?	b R Ramesh	23	38	3	0
P Baskota*	st ?	b T Sajjad	38	53	6	0
P Airee	lbw	b A Ishitaq	2	3	0	0
N Chaudhary	c S Khan	b T Sajjad	34	48	2	0
B Karki	c A Ishitaq	b F Ahmed	7	5	1	0
K Karki	c T Khan	b F Rauf	11	13	0	0
A Pariyar+		b R Ramesh	22	13	4	0
B Dali	not out		3	3	0	0
R Bhatta	not out		3	2	0	0
A Karn	dnb		-
extras		(b3 lb4 w19 nb1)	27
TOTAL		8 wickets for	208

 

FOW1-45(S Pun) 2-96(K Gurung) 3-99(P Airee) 4-149(P Baskota) 5-165(B Karki)6-172(N Chaudhary) 7-198(K Karki) 8-203(A Pariyar)

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
T Sajjad	8	0	43	2	6	-
R Ramesh	8	0	39	2	3	1
F Ahmed	8	1	36	1	3	-
A Ishitaq	8	0	33	2	2	-
T Khan	2	0	15	0	3	-
F Rauf	6	0	35	1	2	-

 

Qatar U-17 : 104 All Out (Overs 23.5)

Batsman	Fieldsman	Bowler	Runs	Bls	4s	6s
T Muhammad	run out A Karn		3	15	0	0
S Khan	c N Chaudhary	b K Karki	0	6	0	0
F Ahmed		b A Karn	0	4	0	0
T Sajjad*	c P Airee	b B Karki	72	84	10	3
A Ishitaq	c S Pun	b K Karki	1	2	0	0
H Mirza	c K Gurung	b K Karki	2	10	0	0
T Khan		b P Airee	6	10	1	0
F Rauf		b P Airee	5	8	1	0
R Ramesh	st A Pariyar	b B Karki	4	5	1	0
S. Khan		b B Karki	0	4	0	0
A Rehman	not out		0	1	0	0
extras		(b0 lb3 w3 nb5)	11
TOTAL		10 wickets for	104

 

FOW1-4(S Khan) 2-6(F Ahmed) 3-11(T Muhammad) 4-14(A Ishitaq) 5-29(H Mirza)6-46(T Khan) 7-66(F Rauf) 8-75(R Ramesh) 9-75(S. Khan) 10-104(T Sajjad)

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
K Karki	5	0	19	3	-	5
A Karn	5	0	19	1	3	-
P Airee	6	1	27	2	-	-
B Karki	6.5	1	35	3	-	-
P Baskota	1	0	1	0	-	-

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Saudi Arabia has reported pulled out after being unable to find home-born players. Asian Cricket Council (ACC) rules that at least two among 14 players should be born in the nation.

After Saudi’s pullout, the event now has only eight teams – four in each group. The total duration of the tournament has also cut short by a day.

ACC U-17 Elite Cup 2009 Fixture

Group A: Singapore, Nepal, Qatar, Hong Kong

Group B: Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Malaysia

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“My gut feeling is that this side is good,” the 56–year-old Sri Lankan said after a training session at the TU Cricket Ground. “I will be very disappointed if we don’t win the tournament.”

This was a different Dias because he never talked about win in such an explicit way. But he did not forget to repeat his old phrases: “But we will take it match by match.” And then he also said that this would be an open tournament and the team that could handle the pressure better would emerge victorious.

Dias, and his team, know how much pressure they will be handling. Although in ACC U-15 Cup, all but two teams were kicked out the event because of fielding overage players and Nepal could not play the semifinals; the last final that Nepal played at the TU Ground, the ACC U-19 Elite Cup, drew 20,000 spectators.

The number is something one find nowhere – even Asian Cricket Council was amazed. But for players and coach, the expectation of people is something extra to handle. “I know the expectations are high in Nepal, they expect us to win every tournament,” Dias said. “I have spoken to players about winning the tournament.”

Dias already has a few feathers in his cap as Nepal’s coach. Under his guidance, Nepal has won four ACC U-19 events, reached three plate finals of Youth World Cup winning one of them and won ACC U-15. That’s a huge success for a coach – and he is rightly called inspirational by cricket lovers; but if he lacks something, it’s the senior and U-17 trophies.

And, Dias knows this is his last chance to win U-17 as ACC has decided that this would be the last U-17 event. On the wake of overage problem, the Asian body to control cricket decided to solve it by taking a step back stepping back and scrapping age-group events.

It’s not that overage problem has not marred Nepal’s preparations. After the humiliation of U-15, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is ensuring everything goes right this time. They medically tested all players of the U-17 national league and found that only 22 were eligible. Then they sent medical records of these players to ACC who then cut out a few, including four just on the eve of team announcement, to bring down number of eligible players to 14 – exactly the number required for a team.

“I only had 22 players to work with for the event,” Dias said. Then, it was down to 14 and the selection was automatic. But Dias does not seem to be bothered. “I am pleased with the players, they trained hard,” he added. “They only lack match practice and I am trying to give them some with a match against CAN XI on Tuesday.”

Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy traveled to Nepal to play three practice matches. “That was little early, as the team had no time to group,” he said. “I would have preferred them a little late, but it was a good experience.”

And, at least for now, Dias is not talking about weak batting line-up – a perennial problem of every Nepali side. “Batting might not be a problem,” he said. “I am just hoping they will not get carried away and try to play big shots on air.”

Dias is hoping that Captain Prithu Baskota, Sagar Pun, Pradeep Airee and Nischal Singh Chaudhary will come good. “They are good players with some experience at international level,” he said. He rated left-arm pacer Avinash Karn as a ‘prospect’ – someone ‘who could be very good in future’.

The event begins on February 4 and Dias will be the happiest man, along with thousands of Nepali cricket fans, if his team registers a victory in the final on February 13 at the TU Cricket Ground.

(As published in myrepublica.com)

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