Nepal captain Dev Khanal won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan at Buffalo Park, East London on Wednesday. Match 14 of the ongoing ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa will see a clash between two Asian outfits with contrasting fortunes. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
In 2002, Nepal stunned a Pakistan side that featured the likes of Azhar Ali, Salman Butt, Umar Gulby, etc. 30 runs. Pakistan exacted a measure of revenge in 2016 when they hammered Nepal by 122 runs.
Nepal started their ICC U-19 World Cup 2024 campaign with a 64-run defeat against New Zealand on Sunday in a match in which the team from the Himalayan Kingdom batted the full 50 overs. Arjun Kumal, one of the openers, scored 90 runs while skipper Dev Khanal and the lower middle order batter Subash Bhandari hit 30s.
The Saad Baig-led Pakistan registered a commanding 181-run win against neighbours Afghanistan in their opener with Shahzaib Khan hitting a measured century, 106 runs off 126 balls. Baig compiled a fluent half-century (55 off 51) while left-arm pacer Ubaid Shah claimed four Afghan wickets (4/26 in seven overs).
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New Zealand, who defeated Afghanistan by one wicket in a low-scoring thriller for their second win, lead Group D with four points. But two-time champions Pakistan, with a win today, can go top thanks to their superior net run rate. Nepal and Afghanistan sit third and fourth, respectively.
Nepal U-19 vs Pakistan U-19 Playing XIs
Nepal U-19: Arjun Kumal, Bipin Rawal, Aakash Tripathi, Dev Khanal (c), Uttam Magar (wk), Gulshan Jha, Deepak Dumre, Dipesh Kandel, Subash Bhandari, Aakash Chand, Durgesh Gupta.
Pakistan U-19: Shahzaib Khan, Shamyl Hussain, Azan Awais, Saad Baig (c & wk), Haroon Arshad, Ahmad Hassan, Arafat Minhas, Khubaib Khalil, Ubaid Shah, Ali Asfand, Mohammad Zeeshan.
