Both Nepal and Afghanistan have lost their first two group matches, which effectively makes this game a knock-out one. Pakistan and New Zealand have already taken two out of three available Super Six spots in Group D of the ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup 2024
Nepal take on Afghanistan in the 19th game of the ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup 2024 at Buffalo Park, East London, South Africa on Friday. Afghanistan captain Naseer Khan Maroofkhil won the toss and opted to bat first after a slight delay. (More Cricket News)
This is the must-win game for either side. With Pakistan and New Zealand winning both their matches so far, and having already taken two out of three available Super Six spots in Group D, the Afghanistan vs Nepal match today is effectively the shoot-out.
Nepal Under-19 lost their previous two matches, against New Zealand Under-19 and Pakistan Under-19 by 64 runs and five wickets, respectively. But against Afghanistan Under-19, the Dev Khanal-led side will fancy their chances.
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The same goes for Naseer Khan Maroofkhil & Co. The Afghan colts lost their opener against Pakistan by 181 runs, but they were within one wicket to stun New Zealand. In a low-scoring thriller, they almost defended 91.
Nepal U-19 vs Afghanistan U-19 Playing XIs
Afghanistan U-19: Jamshid Zadran, Numan Shah (wk), Hassan Eisakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Sohail Khan Zurmati, Ali Ahmad, Arab Gul, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil (c), Allah Mohammad, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Khalil Ahmed.
Nepal U-19: Arjun Kumal, Bipin Rawal (wk), Gulshan Jha, Dev Khanal (c), Aakash Tripathi, Deepak Dumre, Dipak Bohara, Dipesh Kandel, Subash Bhandari, Tilak Bhandari, Aakash Chand