Nepal qualifies for next year's ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia

Nepal qualifies for next year's ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia © Asian Cricket Council

Nepal qualified for next year's ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup when it defeated a spirited Afghanistan by 48 runs in the final of the ACC U/19 Elite Cup at the Kinrara Oval on Wednesday.

Nepal successfully defended a modest of 172 to bowl out Afghanistan for 124 in 45.5 overs after losing its last four wickets for three runs in 11 balls.

ACC U/19 Elite Cup also served as the Asian qualifier and by virtue of winning it, Nepal joined Papua New Guinea (from the East Asia-Pacific Region), Ireland (from the Europe Region), Bermuda (from the Americas Region), the ICC's 10 Full Members and hosts Malaysia at the 16-team ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup to be played from 17 February to 2 March 2008.

Nepal was always favourite to qualify for the fifth successive time after it had beaten five Full Members at the last three ICC U/19 Cricket World Cups and finished ninth at the 2006 event, ahead of both New Zealand and South Africa both of which they defeated.

Deciding to bat first, the Nepal batsmen found the going tough against the disciplined Afghanistan bowlers who continued to take wickets at regular intervals. The only partnership of any substance was for the sixth wicket between Sagar Khadka and Aakash Kumar Gupta who added 61 runs after Nepal had slumped to 60-5 in 21.4 overs.

Khadka scored a painstaking 32 from 79 balls with one four while Gupta scored run-a-ball 48 with six fours and a six. Captain Paras Khadka was other notable run-getter with 28.

For Afghanistan, Asghar Hussain, Obaidullah Kunari and Aimal Wafa took two wickets each.

Afghanistan's start to its innings was similar to that of Nepal when it was reduced to 67-5 in 32.3 overs. Shir Shirazi and Shabir Noori tried to stabilize the innings and in the meantime also improved the run-rate by adding 41 runs for the sixth wicket in little over seven overs.

However, Shirazi's departure opened floodgates as Afghanistan lost its last five wickets for 16 runs to be bowled out for 124. Shirazi scored a 115-ball 66 with three fours and a six while Noori contributed an unbeaten 28.

Nepal's top four bowlers - Amrit Bhattarai, Paras Khadka, Abhaya Rana and Rahul Kumar - shared only four wickets between them but conceded just 58 runs from 27 overs which was instrumental in putting huge pressure on the Afghanistan bowlers.

Nepal coach Roy Dias was delighted with the success of his team which also gives him an unprecedented honour of appearing at his fourth ICC U/19 CWC. He said: "These kids have shown that they are tough and can come through against any opposition and in any conditions. It is an honour to be involved in my fourth ICC U/19 CWC as coach of the same team but I guess the credit goes to these boys who proved to be good learners and executers.

"We were not given any realistic chance of qualifying this time because we could hardly practice in Nepal because of rain. However, we were rescued by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) who funded our week-long tour from 10-17 August. And although we lost a couple of matches, it was a big tour in terms that the boys got match practice and managed to fine-tune their talent."

Commenting on the final, Dias felt the key stage of the match was the sixth wicket partnership between Khadka and Gupta who added 61 runs. "I think that was the turning point because that partnership made sure we had enough runs on the board. And once we picked up Afghanistan opener Sajed Khan very early in the innings, we knew we had the match under control because bowling was our strength and we showed tremendous discipline in that department throughout the tournament," the former Sri Lanka Test batsman said.

Dias hoped that this team would match the performance shown by his team in the 2006 ICC U/19 CWC where it finished ninth, ahead of South Africa and New Zealand. "These are tough kids and while I am happy with the bowling resources and fielding agility, I am a bit concerned with the batsmen. But I am sure that we will be able to adequately prepare ourselves before the ICC U/19 CWC in Malaysia."

The ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup is a vital part of the ICC Development Program and provides a vehicle for the best young cricketers in the world to parade their skills.

Many of the future stars of the game experience their first true international exposure at this tournament and players such as Brian Lara, Michael Atherton, Yuvraj Singh, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Chris Cairns, Michael Clarke, Graeme Smith and Sanath Jayasuriya have used the event as a stepping stone to full international honours.

First staged in Australia in 1988, the tournament was initially organised on an occasional basis, but since the commencement of the ICC Development Program in 1997 it has become a biennial fixture.

The 2010 ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup will be held in Kenya while the 2012 tournament will be staged in Canada and UAE will host the 2014 edition.