Nepal crush Singapore, sail into semi-finals of ACC U19 Eastern Region Tournament 2019

Nepal put in a clinical performance with bat and ball to crush Singapore by 220 runs on Day 3 of the ACC U19 Eastern Region Tournament 2019.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Pawan Sarraf and Rit Gautam took the score to 0-92 in the fifteenth over before Sarraf fell to captain Vinit Mehta. Nepal continued their innings at brisk pace, reaching 3-227 off the fortieth over, Khadak Bahadur Bohara hit a run a ball 90.

The last ten overs were an exercise in classy stroke play and at times brutal hitting as Nepal added another hundred runs to finish on 4-326. Gautam carried his bat for the tournament’s first century and Kushal Malla the tournament’s fastest half-century with 51 off 23 balls.

Singapore got off to a reasonable start, but the introduction of Nepal’s spinners created problems. 1-41 became 6-50 in the space of five overs, Kushal Malla (4-14) and Tilak Raj Bhandari (2-9) the chief destroyers. Hari Kukreja and Chandramauli Sridev staged a mini-recovery to take Singapore past hundred, but another collapse saw them all out for 109.

In the day’s Hong Kong booked their place in the semi-finals with a 170 run win over a stubborn Bhutan side at the Selangor Turf Club. Nasrulla Rana’s crisp 50 off 30 in the first power play and a patient, unbeaten 84 off 108 balls from captain Adit Gorawara took Hong Kong to a solid 9-265 off their 50 overs. Karma Dorji troubled the Hong Kong batsmen throughout his spell and finished with 4-27 off 10 overs.

Bhutan seemed intent on batting out their fifty overs and they almost made it. Opening bowler Mohammad Hassan took 3-18 off his 10 overs with five maidens as Bhutan crept to 95 all out in a 43 over sojourn.

Hong Kong will be hoping to beat Malaysia in order to avoid Nepal in the semi-finals. After a heroic display here, Bhutan will fancy their chances against an unpredictable Thailand side. Both games to watch tomorrow.

(Photo: ACC)