Nepal To Big Event In Cricket. Nepal joined Afghanistan and Ireland, becoming the third team to qualify for the World T20 2014 in Bangladesh with a last-ball win against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi. Its the first time Nepal will be heading to a global event. Nepal entered the final over needing 13 to win and Sharad Vesawkar swung the a six down the ground followed by an inside-edged four through fine leg. Vesawkar was back on strike to face the final delivery with scores level and pierced a packed ring through extra cover to send Nepal through to Bangladesh with a five-wicket win. Chasing 144, Nepal got off to a solid start, but Hong Kong kept chipping away every time it appeared Nepal was about to seize control. Tanwir Afzal bowled opener Subash Khakurel behind his legs for 16 and Sagar Pun made 22 off 19 before he was pinned on the crease by a full delivery by Haseeb Amjad. Gyanendra Malla and Paras Khadka came together and added 33 for the third wicket before Malla heaved Aizaz Khan to deep midwicket for 30. Atkinson kept Nepal off balance with a series of bowling changes as dot balls kept piling up to bring the equation to 32 off 20 balls for Nepal to win. Khadka only struck two boundaries in his 46 off 39 and cleverly seized on ones and twos to anchor the chase. He offered a chance to Jamie Atkinson behind the stumps on the last ball of the 18th, but Hong Kongs wicketkeeper-captain spilled it and in the process injured his right thumb before exiting the field for treatment. A front foot no-ball by left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed was slammed past the umpire for a boundary two balls into the 19th and it looked as though Hong Kong would crumble without their captain. However, Hong Kong erupted in the field when Khadka was run-out two balls later after changing his mind too late on a second run. After sending Hong Kong in to bat, Nepal had bowled and fielded marvellously for the majority of the innings before a hiccup in the final two overs allowed Hong Kong to reach 143 for 8. Hong Kong had a handful of players cross 20, but none made it past 25. The dangerous Irfan Ahmed was the first of three wickets for seamer Jitendra Mukhiya, edging a short ball to Nepal captain Paras Khadka at first slip in the second over. Hong Kong captain Atkinson sliced Avinash Karn to point at the start of the fifth. The two bowlers shared five wickets between them. The win also took Nepal to the semi-final of the qualifying tournament where they will meet Afghanistan. Scotland 126 for 3 (MacLeod 56, Berrington 52) beat Italy 125 for 8 (Northcote 46, Carter 2-26, Sharif 2-19) by seven wickets Scorecard Scotland openers Richie Berrington and Calum MacLeod scored half-centuries to keep the teams hopes of reaching the 2014 World Twenty20 alive, with a seven-wicket win over Italy in Abu Dhabi. Scotland will now play the loser of the game between the Netherlands and the UAE for a spot in next years showpiece event, but Italy have been eliminated. Berrington and MacLeod put up a stand of 112 that sent Scotland well on their way of overhauling the modest target of 126. Berrington hit 52 off 44 deliveries with six fours, while MacLeods 45-ball 56 included seven fours. Offspinner Carl Sandri dismissed both batsmen in the 15th over, but Michael Leask and Kyle Coetzer took the team home with 15 balls to spare. Italy, choosing to bat, had earlier made a bright start as the opener Gareth Berg raced his way to a 16-ball 24 inside four overs. However, medium-pacer Safyaan Sharif removed both Berg and Peter Petricola in successive overs of his, leaving Italy at 41 for 2 after six overs. Andy Northcote made 46, but in the absence of any other big score or partnership, Italy were restricted to 125 for 8 from their 20 overs, with Sharif and Neil Carter taking two wickets apiece. Papua New Guinea 145 for 4 (Jones 36, Ura 34) beat Namibia 120 (Williams 42, Raho 3-10) by 25 runs Scorecard The Papua New Guinea bowlers, led by Pipi Raho, kept the teams chances of qualifying for the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh alive with a convincing 25-run win against Namibia, who were eliminated from the race. PNG will now meet Hong Kong on November 28, the winner of the match going through to the world event in Bangladesh. Rahos three wickets in his first three overs helped PNG to reduce Namibia to 16 for 4 while defending 145, a start from which Namibia wasnt able to recover and were bowled out in the 19th over. Craig Williams was the only batsman to put up any resistance, scoring 42 off 37 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes. PNG had been given a flying start, again by Tony Ura, who scored most of the runs in a 42-run opening stand. It was followed by two more important innings, first by Geraint Jones, who scored 36, and then by Jack Vare, who remained unbeaten on 30, to help the team to a competitive total. The PNG bowlers made sure it was more than enough.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 12:24:13 +0000
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