HK end Nepal’s unbeaten streak

THE KATHMANDU POST REPORT, April 27 -

Hong Kong ended Nepal’s unbeaten streak of 22 matches in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup Cricket on Monday. Four time title defenders Nepal hadn’t lost a mach in this edition of tournament since their defeat against Bangladesh in 1999.

Nepal had already reached the semi-final of the tournament with a match against Hong Kong to spare. The 36-run Hong Kong win ensured their place in the last four as well. Man-of-the-match Irfan Ahmed scored a century as Hong Kong put up a target of 194 runs. Batsmen faltered in the flat pitch of the Unity Ground as Nepal was all out with 36 runs short of the target.

Anil Mandal top scored with 29 runs while Sagar Khadka and Sunny Pun added 25 and 18 runs respectively. Captain Gyanendra Malla who had batted well in the last couple of matches said his wicket was the turning point of the match. “My wicket was crucial. We lost the match from then on,” Malla said, “Today’s match has shown that we need to work hard on all departments of the game.” Nepal gave away 85 runs in the last ten overs.

Earlier, spinner Lal Bdr. Adhikari took three wickets for Nepal. Pacers Rupesh Shrivastav grabbed two wickets while Amril Bhattaria took one.

Coach Roy Dias praised Ahmed’s performance and said the batsmen let him down.

“The boys gave away too many runs in the last ten overs and senior batsmen failed to perform once again.”