Emirates Cricket Board’s Mazhar Khan hailed UAE Under-19’s fantastic victory against Nepal to reach Saturday’s final of the Asian Cricket Council’s Under-19 Elite Cup as validation of their belief that the team deserved a place in the ICC World Under-19 Cup.
The UAE put on a superb display in beating Nepal, a team which has qualified for six of the last seven U19 World Cups.
Shorye Chopra scored a scintillating century and the consistent Dan D’Souza (58 runs and four wickets) were the stars as they won by a huge margin of 76 runs in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Captain Rohit Singh Jamwal’s team will now face the other powerhouse of ACC under-19 cricket – Afghanistan, who beat hosts Malaysia by 140 runs.
Afghanistan had also beaten UAE in the opening Group B match by 161 runs. Irrespective of the result in the final, the UAE have already qualified for the U19 World Cup as host nation, while their opponents will also make the trip here in February next year.
It is the automatic qualification that Mazhar, ECB Administrator, was referring to when he said: “This victory and the way our boys achieved it, is proof enough that they deserve to be a part of the Under-19 World Cup.
“Nepal has been one of the strongest team in the Asian Cricket Council after the full member teams. They have a fantastic record in the tournament and most people expected them to reach the final.
“It is now going to be a big challenge for them against Afghanistan, especially after the opening defeat against them, but I think the boys are all fired up to give it their best shot.”
Against Nepal, things were not looking good for the UAE after they were put in to bat. Early loss of Omer Mohammed, Zamin Jaleel and Adnaan Khan had left them reeling at 32-3 in the seventh over. B
ut then came an excellent fightback as D’Souza added 171 runs for the fourth wicket with Chopra. While D’Souza was cautious in his approach and compiled his 58 in 105 balls with just two hits to the fence, Chopra was belligerent in making his 114 off 115 balls with the help of 17 boundaries and a six.
Sajid Khan (26) and captain Jamwal (15) helped UAE reach an extremely competitive total of 271-7 in their 50 overs.
D’Souza wasn’t done yet and when Nepal replied, he took 4-46 in his 10 overs to pave the way for the big win. Harishankar Shah (52) and Bhuwan Kharki (41) scored the bulk of runs for their side, but once Nepal lost their top six batsmen for 122, it was always going to be tough.
Saurabhkant Gir took two wickets for 28 runs in 8.1 overs and there was a wicket each for all the other bowlers used (Tahir Sultan, Justin James, Jay Joshi and Jamwal) as Nepal were bowled out for 195 in the 47th over.
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