Nepal ended the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers on high note, and second place, beating USA in the final league match by 99 runs. The result also meant that USA failed to qualify for the Youth World Cup.
USA needed to beat Nepal at the Limavady Cricket Club to get through.
Nepal batted first and posted a competitive 264 for nine in its 50 overs. The top-scorers for Nepal were Naresh Budayair (76: 94b, 5×4, 3×6) and Pradeep Airee (57: 57b, 3×4, 3×6).
But USA lost two wickets in the first over and the chase went out of control. Steven Taylor held the key to the chase. But once he fell for 52, USA’s dreams of qualifying ended.
Budayair’s knock fetched him the Man of the Match award: “I had to stay at the wicket and control the innings. I am glad, I was able to do that today. It all went well for us. I thought we had enough on the board. But till Steven Taylor was at the crease, we were a bit wary. Once Steven fell, we were certain of a win.”
Afghanistan, Namibia and PNG also sealed their slots for World Cup to be held in Australia with convincing wins on the final day of the Qualifiers. Nepal, Scotland and Ireland had already booked its place in the finals to be held next year.
Nepal U19 264 for nine, 50 overs (Budayair 76, Airee 57, Karki 45; Ahmad 3-44, Shahid 3-32, JS Sandhu 2-38) beat USA U19 165 all out, 44.1 overs (Taylor 52, Ahmad 38; Vishvakarma 4-24, Baskota 2-21, Karn 2-25) by 99 runs.