Nepal won the match against Kuwait with a big margin in the ICC U19 Men’s CWC Asia Division 1 Qualifier 2023, registering a victory over Kuwait by a margin of 243 runs in the qualifying tournament that began on Friday in Ajman, UAE.
Kuwait could only manage to score 100 runs for the loss of all 10 wickets in 30.5 overs. Jude Christopher Saldhana was the top scorer for Kuwait, scoring 26 off 24 balls, and Yusuf Sadiq Basha Mohamed Rasiq Mohamed scored 19 runs in 42 balls.
Akash Chand took 6 wickets for Nepal, while Hemant Dhami and Dipesh Kandel took 2 wickets each. Nepal conceded 6 extra runs with only 1 wide.
Before that, Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first, setting a huge target of 343 runs in 50 overs. Captain Dev Khanal was the top scorer for Nepal, scoring his first hundred with 125 runs off 117 balls, while Arjun Kumal scored a century off 108 runs in 112 balls.
Arsh Sahil Kazmi and Henry Thomas both took 2 wickets each for Kuwait, while Haiber Ali and Jay Maheshkumar Mehta took 1 wicket each. The Kuwait bowlers gave away 29 extras, which included 16 wides. Nepal managed to set a substantial target by scoring 94 runs in the death overs while losing four wickets.
Akash Chand was named the Man of the Match for his outstanding 6/43 bowling.
Nepal is now in second place on the points table behind the UAE. Nepal’s upcoming schedule in the qualifying tournament includes matches against Hong Kong on February 27 and Malaysia on February 28 before facing the host nation, UAE, in their final match on March 2.
The tournament features six teams, including the host UAE, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore, and Nepal.
The table topper in the tournament, which will continue until March 2, will earn a qualification spot for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup set to take place in Sri Lanka in 2024.
