Dominant UAE and Nepal trounce Kuwait and Malaysia respectively while Singapore down Hong Kong in a thriller

By K.R. Nayar

(For the International Cricket Council website). Click https: https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/3087868 for detailed coverage of the ICC Under-19 World Cup Asia Qualifiers in Ajman

 

Ajman. UAE and Nepal extended their unbeaten run scoring emphatic victories over Kuwait and Malaysia respectively in the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifier 2023 in Ajman. In another match Singapore defeated Hong Kong in a thriller by seven runs.

 

UAE and Kuwait team captains toss in the presence of  Match Referee Wendell Labrooy 

So dominant have UAE and Nepal been in this tournament that it could well be a spectacular clash when these two meet on the final day of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifier on March 2. The winner of this tournament will qualify for the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in 2024.

 

Once again, it was UAE’s Dhruv Parashar who emerged as the hero of their team’s eight-wicket win over Kuwait through an unbeaten knock of 54 off 33 balls with ten boundaries and a six at the Malek Ground - 2. He also bagged two wickets for seven runs to ensure Kuwait was bowled out for a paltry 100 runs in 44.5 overs.

 

Nepal raced to a ten-wicket win over Malaysia by bowling them out for 72 in 35.3 overs at the Malek Ground - 1. The chief destroyers of the Malaysian innings were Dipesh Kandel (4 for 11) and Akash Chand (3 for 9). Nepal raced to victory in just nine overs with openers Deepak Bohara (38n.o) and Arjun Kumal (21n.o).

 

The Hong Kong- Singapore match at the Eden Garden Oval was a well fought one. Singapore posted 218 for 8 in 50 overs through Aaryan Modi’s knock of 63 off 81 balls with two boundaries. Hong Kong chased the total through fighting knocks from opener Jayden Botfiled’s 69 off 106 balls with nine boundaries and Shiv Mathur’s 43 off 86 balls with four boundaries but could muster only 211 for 7 in 50 overs and lost the match by seven runs.

Dhruv Parashar’s show gives UAE another big win

 

Kuwait won the toss and elected to bat against UAE. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals right from the start.  First to go was opener Het Kishorebhai Hinsu clean bowled by Harit Harish Shetty for 6 to the third ball of the first over. In the fourth over, one-drop Saud Mohamed Sadath fell leg before to UAE skipper Aayan Afzal Khan for 8. In the fifth over, Harit Harish Shetty picked the valuable wicket of Kuwait’s consistent opener Jude Christopher Saldhana caught by Harshit for 6. Worse was to follow with Gautham Mohandas Poolakkal getting caught by Harit off Aayan Afzal Khan for 3. When half the Kuwait side was back in the pavilion for just 33 runs, Yusuf Sadiq Basha got caught by Aayan Afzal Khan off Monish Gajesh for 1.

 

Henry Thomas backed Jay Maheshkumar Mehta who kept the scoreboard moving. They added 23 runs for the sixth wicket when Jay Maheshkumar Mehta got bowled by Ammar Badami for 17. Arush Shah chipped in with 12 runs before being bowled by Dhruv Parashar. Muhammad Aqif Farooq joined Henry and took the total to 92 when Dhruv Parashar struck again to remove Muhammad Aqif, caught by Deepak for 5.

 

Harshit Seth clean bowled next man Haiber Ali while Ammar Badami got last man Talha Hassan caught by Deepak for a duck. Henry Thomas remained unbeaten on 30 and Kuwait got restricted to 100 in 44.5 overs.

 

UAE raced to the target after losing opener Aryansh Sharma for a duck, trapped leg before by Talha Hassan. Skipper Aayan Khan and Dhruv Parashar put on a 68 runs partnership before Aayan got bowled by Yusuf Sadiq Basha for 27.

 

Dhruv Parashar produced another stupendous batting show cracking an unbeaten 54 runs, and along with Maroof Merchant (16n.o) the pair put on an unbeaten 35 runs for the third wicket and win the match in 13.1 overs.

 

Dhruv Parashar, who won the Player of the Match award for the second successive match, said: “I am very happy at being able to give my best in these important matches. As a senior player, I have been able to lead by example. One more game to go and I will once again give my best for my team to ensure a place in the coming World Cup.”

 

UAE skipper Aayan Khan said: “We have really done well in all our matches. We will give our 200 percent in the next against Nepal. We are confident that we can win and and qualify for the World Cup.”

 

Brief scores:
UAE bt Kuwait by 8 wkts. Kuwait 100 in 44.5 overs (Henry  Thomas 30n.o, Harit Harish Shetty 2 for 18, Aayan Afzal Khan 2 for 27, Aamar Badami 2 for 11, Dhruv Parashar 2 for 7) UAE 103 for 2 in 13.1 overs (Aayan Afzal Khan 27, Dhruv Parashar 54n.o)

Player of the Match: Dhruv Parashar

 

Nepal dominate Malaysia for ten-wicket win

 

Malaysia won the toss and elected to bat at Malek Ground 1. Nepal quickly removed Malaysian skipper and consistent batsman Sidharth Karthik Rajaratnam, clean bowled by Akash Chand for 1. This was followed by a short partnership of 28 runs for the second wicket between opener Mohammad Hairil Harisan and Muhammad Akram. Milan Bohara clean bowled Mohammad Hairil Harisan for 12. Muhammad Alaif Shamsul Bahrin did not last long as he got caught and bowled by Dipesh Kandel for 4. At the score on 51, Muhammad Akram, who was stroking well, got caught by Bishal Bikram off Dipesh for 26. One run later, Malaysia lost their fifth wicket when Siddharth Neelakantan got stumped by Uttam Rangu Thapa to give Dipesh his third wicket.

 

Nepal and Malaysia captains toss in the presence of Match referee Wendell Labrooy  

While wickets continued to fall, Shivnarin Rahul got trapped leg before by Milan Bohara for 1 and Muhammad Aiman Zaquan got caught by Bishal Bikram off Subash Bhandari for a duck. Muhammad Azri Azhar became the eighth victim when Dipesh Kandel picked his fourth wicket getting him caught behind for 5. In the 36th over, Akash Chand removed Muhammad Syahir Syamael clean bowled for 12, and with the third ball he clean bowled Haziq Haiqal Idris for a duck. Malaysia’s innings thus ended for 72 runs in 35.3 overs.

 

Chasing the easy target, Nepal refused to give away any wicket. Their openers Deepak Bohara, through an unbeaten 38, and Arjun Kumal, through an unconquered 21, took their team to the target in just nine overs.

 

Speaking about his fine four wicket spell, Dipesh Kandel who was adjudged Player of the Match said: “I concentrated on my strengths and got those wickets. I bowled normal deliveries but put the ball at the right areas and picked those wickets.”

 

Skipper Dev Khanal, talking about his team’s ten wicket win, said: “It was nothing but overall team effort.  Our guys have done well in all departments of the game and to win by ten wickets is really special. I am happy the way everyone is performing for the team.”

 

Brief scores:

Nepal bt Malaysia by 10 wkts.

Malaysia 72 in 35.3 overs (Muhammad Akram 26, Akash Chand 3 for 9, Milan Bohara 2 for 8, Dipesh Kandel 4 for 11)  Nepal 73 for no loss in 9 overs (Deepak Bohara 38n.o, Arjun Kumal 21n.o) Nepal 73 for no loss in 9 overs (Deepak Bohara 38n.o, Arjun Kumal 21n.o)
Player of the Match: Dipesh Kandel

 

Singapore defeat Hong Kong in a thriller

 

Singapore won the toss and elected to bat at the Eden Garden Oval . Opener Rahil Khan fell trapped leg before by Darsh Vora for a duck. Opener Kabir Zandani quickly settled down, and along with Abhuday Chhajer, put on a 51 runs partnership for the second wicket before Abhuday got caught and bowled by Ahan Trivedi for 14. One run later Mahiyu Bhatia got trapped leg before to Paraspreet Singh for a duck. This brought in consistent batsman Sidhanth Srikanth. Kabir Zandani and Sidhanth took the score to 83 when Kabir Zandani got out to Mohammad Aliyaan, caught by Abdul Samad for 41. His knock off 63 balls had four boundaries and a six.

 

Aaryan Modi and Sidhanth Srikanth then accelerated the run flow through a 64 runs partnership for the fifth wicket before Sidhanth Srikanth got run out for 48 off 65 balls with four boundaries. Next man Aryaveer Chaudhary too got run out for 9. Soon Thiyanesh Venkatesan got bowled to Parth Bhagwat for 7. Aaryan Modi got out to the first ball of the last over from Parth, caught behind by wicketkeeper Jayden for 63. Skipper Jeevan Santhanam remained unbeaten on 12 and Singapore posted 218 for 8 in 50 overs.

 

Chasing the challenging target, Hong Kong openers Jayden Botfield and Aarez Dar put on a 40 runs partnership in 9.2 overs before Abhuday Chaudhary trapped Aarez Dar leg before for 13. One-drop Shiv Mathur and Jayden Botfield put on a strong partnership.  Jayden raced to his half century in 80 balls.  The pair put on 90 runs for the second wicket before Jeevan Santhanam had Shiv Mathur caught by Adwitya for 43. At the score on 148, Hong Kong lost two wickets, Jayden Botfield got run out while Parth Bhagwat got caught behind by wicketkeeper Kabir off Adwitya Bhargava for 9.

Pressure began to mount with 60 runs needed off the last eight overs with six wickets in hand. Fresh batsmen Abdul Samad Khan and Mohammad Aliyaan Zahir took the score to 176 when Abdul Samad got run out for 18. At the score on 200, Mohammad Aliyaan Zahir, who lit up hopes of a victory, got trapped leg before to Adwitya Bhargava for 23. Ahan Trivedi became the third batsman to get run out for 4. Muhammad Mudassar Khan through an unbeaten 11 tried to push his team to the target but fell short by seven runs.

 

Brief scores:

Singapore bt Hong Kong by 7 runs.

Singapore 218 for 8 in 50 overs (Kabir Zandani 41, Sidhanth Srikanth 48, Aaryan Modi 63, Parth Bhagwat 2 for 31) Hong Kong 211 for 7 in 50 overs (Jayden Botfield 69, Shiv Mathur 43, Mohammad Aliyaan Zahir 23, Adwitya Bhargava 2 for 47)

Player of the Match: Aaryan Modi