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Nepal thrashed New Zealand in the sixth match of ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 by 32 runs on Thursday. Nepal bundled out New Zealand for 206, hence causing the first upset of the tournament (or was it?). Batting first, Nepal Under-19s posted 238 runs in their 50 overs before an excellent bowling effort from Nepal dished them out a resounding defeat. Nepal and New Zealand have faced each other twice so far in Under-19 World Cups and surprisingly, it was Nepal that had finished on the winning side on both the occasions. The last time when they met in 2006, New Zealand lost despite fielding a side that included the likes of Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Tim Southee and Ronnie Hira. FULL SCORECARD: Nepal vs New Zealand, 6th match of ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup
Nepal’s opening batsman Sandeep Sunar gave them a decent start, who bagged 5 runs in the very first over of their innings. The next two overs went slow before targeting Ben Sears in the in the fourth over to ad another eight runs and hitting Nepal’s first boundary of the day. Eventually, Nepal went on to hit 23 fours and a six in their 50 overs.
After the dismissal of the top-order, captain-wicketkeeper-batsman Raju Rijal took charge for Nepal. He built a stand worth of 61 runs off 13.2 overs with Aarif Sheikh for the fourth wicket before becoming first and only scalp of the day for Josh Finnie. However, the lower-order made crucial small contributions after the fall of Rijal and Sheikh. Rajbir Singh and Kushal Bhurtel scored 39 ad 35 runs respectively and those runs did make a difference later in the match when New Zealand struggled in their chase.
Sunil Dhamala and Aarif Sheikh opened bowling for Nepal from either ends. Nepal had to wait for just 4 overs to make their first breakthrough. An excellent fielding meant, Nepal drew first blood through a run out. Rachin Ravindra pushed the delivery off Aarif Sheikh towards mid-wicket, ran for a single but could not make it to the crease as the fielder there had an excellent target with a direct hit. New Zealand’s opening batsman was their lone warrior, who scored a half-century before getting dismissed by Prem Tamang in the 26th over, leaving New Zealand struggling at 108 for 4.
New Zealand’s skipper Josh Finnie was one of the small contribution makers for his side with 37 runs from 60 balls. The other Phillips—Dale Phillips also put on some fight with his 41 runs from 50 balls. Dipendra Singh Airee was the highest wicket-taker for Nepal in the match with three wickets from five overs.
Nepal next face Ireland, who lost to India earlier in the day, in the ongoing World Cup on January 30.
Brief Scores:
Nepal 238 for 7 (Raju Rijal 48; Nathan Smith 3 for 58) beat New Zealand 206 (Glenn Phillips 52; Dipendra Singh Airee 3 for 24) by 32 runs.