Afghans quash Nepal challenge while hosts secure first win
Afghanistan gave their World Cup qualifying campaign a massive boost by brushing aside fellow contenders Nepal in their first of two fixtures against each other at the CWC U19s 2018 Asia Qualifiers while Singapore brought up their maiden victory in style against the Malaysians.
Playing their first match at the iconic Padang, home ground of the Singapore Cricket Club, the Afghans lost the toss and were sent in to bat. Naveed Obaid and Ibrahim Zadran opened the innings and amidst some disciplined bowling from the Nepalese, the pair played sensibly to rotate the strike and more importantly dispatched any deliveries that fell short of the mark. Nepal played their part in fielding with incredible zest, chasing deliveries that got through the gaps and most times, preventing the boundary. The game had a sense of a very well balanced contest between bat and ball with both sides showcasing high-quality cricket.
Nepal finally got their breakthrough wicket as left arm off spinner, Shahab Alam bowled a gem of a delivery which dropped sharply in flight and spun just enough to take the edge of Zadran’s bat as he pushed forward to defend, caught well by keeper Sheikh. Zadran’sknock of 43 (41) included a massive six which was dispatched off Alam’s previous delivery, making his dismissal taste all the sweeter for the jubilant Nepalese. Once again, the match was a contest between the two nations as they traded punches, Nepal snaring the timely wicket and with Afghanistan consolidating the innings each time. As the fourth wicket fell at the score for 135 however, Nepal started to turn the screws as their spinners, coupled with an impressive fielding unit, started to frustrate the Afghans who at this point were probably feeling that the scoring rate was not high enough. This inadvertently caused the rash shot and the desperate scurried single which played into Nepal’s hands. The Afghans were finally bowled out in 49.4 overs for 190, Nepal doing a brilliant job in stifling the potent batting line up of their opponents. Left arm off spinner, Shahab Alam contributing in a big way to Nepal’s polished bowling performance with his 3-48 of whom all consisted of Afghanistan’s top order batters.
As the Nepalese opening bats made their way to the middle, skipper Lamicchane looked to be still appreciating his team’s great bowling performance as he sat in the players tents in a jovial mood. The Afghans looked charged and opening with pace from one end, they broke with protocol and chose to open with off spin from the other. It was the lanky off spinner, Mujeed Ur Rehman who drew first blood removing keeper Sheikh and soon snared his second victim Sunar leaving Nepal on 12 -2. The Nepalese then sat dumbfounded as Afghan captain Naveen Ul Haq stepped it up a gear and after removing Airee, caught at midwicket attempting to pull, sent the incoming Magar back after rearranging his stumps with a brilliant delivery. Anil Kumar Shah was in next to face the music and as he stepped across a fuller delivery to work it down to fine leg, it rapped his pads and the confident appeals of the bowler and his team mates were complimented by a raised finger from the umpire. Three in three deliveries and if that was not enough to shatter the spirit of the dejected Nepalese, Naveen came back for his first ball in his next over and knocked over the burly Aadil Khan making it four wickets in four consecutive deliveries. 19-6 and apart from a stubborn knock from Sharraf 26 (52) at the end, Nepal’s innings was put to bed at 49 all out in 26 overs. Naveen Ul Haq holding aloft the Man of the Match trophy to the cheers of his teammates for his brilliant spell of 4 - 8 off 4.
“Naveen Ul Haq stated after the match that this was a much needed and crucial win and a final of sorts. He felt that Nepal was always going to be the team which was going to challenge them the most. He added that the atmosphere around the team setting is now more relaxed after this win and although he feels it is good for team morale, he is constantly reminding the team that it is not over till the end and one mistake can cost them. When asked about his consecutive four ball wicket haul, he said that this was not the first time as he had taken a hat trick and had done so against Saudi Arabia in a previous tournament and that there is no secret to it but to bowl full and straight to the incoming batters and this time he was rewarded with four ball wicket haul.”
At the Indian Association, Singapore had a great outing with the bat after electing to do with an opening stand of 171 between RohanRangarajan and Sean Agarwal. Agarwal was only dismissed in the 38th over for 74 (109) which consisted of 7 boundaries and 2 sixes. The Malaysians seemed to have gained the upper hand as they removed Singapore’s middle order cheaply but it was Rangarajan that continued his aggressive vigil out in the middle, only being dismissed with two balls left in the match. Rangarajanwalked off to all round applause for his 111 (150) during which the flamboyant right hander incredibly only hit 2 boundaries but had sent 7 deliveries out of the park. Singapore ended the day on 262/8 with keeper Singhania being the only other batter who got into double figures with his 20 (12).
Malaysia lost an early wicket as they began their pursuit of Singapore’s total while their reliable captain, Virandeep Singh grafted his innings with Shaifullah Malik until the latter was dismissed for a patient 22 (64). At 99-3 off 30 overs and with Virandeep still at the crease, the rot set in as Malaysia began their capitulation with the bat as Singapore’s array of spinners entered the attack. Left arm spinner Aahan Achar and leg spinner Bikram Biswasray snaring five wickets between them. Virandeep’s defiant stand was finally ended by centurion Rangarajan’s bowling, as he was out caught for 64(91) which was also the final Malaysian wicket finishing on 135 runs. Singapore winning by a 127 runs and with that, the boasting rights for the cross border matchup between the two traditional rivals up till the next fixture at least. Rohan Rangarajan voted man of the match for his century, the first of the tournament’s so far.
Afghanistan may feel that they have one foot in New Zealand for 2018 but will surely want to keep on their toes for the remaining fixtures while the win for Singapore might just spark their campaign and give them the motivation to go hard at a crestfallen Nepal in their next fixture.
For results, live scores and information on the ICC U19 CWC 2018 Division 1 - Asia please go to :
