KATHMANDU, NOV 28 -
Nepal recorded a nervy five-wicket win over Hong Kong on Wednesday to secure a ticket to the next year’s ICC World Cup in Bangladesh.
In an intense battle between the two sides trying to reach their first ever World Cup, Hong Kong scored 143-8 in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi after put in to bat first.
Nepal replied with 144-5, but only just. The match went down to the wire with Sharad Vesawkar hitting the winning run in the last ball of their innings.
After skipper Paras Khadka was run out on 46 runs in a terrible mix up with Vesawkar in the 19th over, Nepal appeared to be heading for defeat. Nepal needed 13 runs from the last over and Vesawkar hit Haseeb Amjad for a six and a four in the first two balls but could only manage to add two singles in the next three balls. With scores tied at 143 Vesawkar hit the winning run.
Vesawkar had done a similar job in their group stage win over Kenya by hitting 17 runs in the last over. Nepal skipper Khadka played a fluent yet cautious knock hitting just two boundaries in his 39-ball stay in the pitch after the dismissal of dangerous-looking Gyanendra Malla (30 off 28) and Sagar Pun (22 off 19).
Earlier, Nepal, young seamers, Jitendra Mukhiya and Avinash Karn shared five wickets between them to restrict Hong Kong for 143-8. Mukhiya, in particular, played a key role in containing Hong Kong taking two wickets in succession in ht 16th over.
Hong Kong were heading for a big total with Munir Dar, who struck two sixes in his 17-ball 20, in fine nick but Mukhiya dismissed the dangerman in the third ball of the 16th over before accounting for Mark Chapman (8) in the next ball. Tailender Tanwir Afzal then blasted 14-ball 25 late on to help post a competitive total on the board.
“I was confident that I could score the required runs in the last over,” said Vesawkar. Nepal play the semi-final match against Group B winners Afghanistan on Friday.
Top six teams qualify for the Twenty20 World Cup proper in Bangladesh. Depending on the rankings in the Qualifiers, these six teams will be placed in two groups — three in a Zimbabwe pool and another three in Bangladesh pool. Group winners will then join the top eight ICC Full Member teams in the next round.
Incidentally, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Foreign Affairs Madhav Prasad Ghimire had predicted Nepal playing in the World Cup three years earlier. Speaking during the inauguration of the 12th Soaltee Crowne Plaza Super-Six cricket tournament at the TU grounds in 2010, the-then Chief Secretary Ghimire had said: Nepali cricket should be taken ahead with the slogan, “Nepal’s target 2015 World Cup”
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