Bangladesh beat Nepal to fix Sri Lanka gold medal clash in SA Games

By Cricketing Country | Posted Posted Dec 07, 2019

Nepal were knocked out from
the gold medal contention of the 13^th South Asian Games men’s
cricket after they lost to Bangladesh U-23 by 44 runs in a full house at the TU
Stadium.

Gyanendra Malla’s decision
of electing to bat first was partially vindicated when former skipper Paras
Khadka struck early with three dismissals inside three overs. But Bangladesh
captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Afif Hossain not only halted the proceedings
but also lifted the innings percectly leading their side to a challenging 155-6
in 20 overs.

Nepal, in reply, were
restricted to 111-9 after Bangladeshi bowlers used all their experience to the
dismay of over 10,000 Nepali supporters who had thronged the stadium for the
early game.

The hosts’ challenge for
gold medal ended with the defeat and will now play for bronze against either
Bhutan or Maldives. Nepal had beaten both the teams in the league stage after
losing to Sri Lanka U-23 in the tournament opener despite putting a challenging
172 on the board.

Nepal had a bright start
when former skipper Paras Khadka came up with a new ball and spun through
Bangladeshi defense to pick up three quick wickets. In the second over, Paras
bowled opener Mohammad Naim (six) and returned in the fourth to remove
experience Soumya Sarkar (six) off Karan KC at point and then bowling new man
Saif Hassan.

But Shanto and Afif held
firm in their match-winning 94-run partnership before with the latter being the
aggressor. Afif smashed six boundaries and a six in his 28-ball 52, while Shanto
struck a 60-ball 75 not out four sixes and as many fours.

Paras bowled economical in
his four-over spell conceding just 15 runs. Dipendra Singh Airee also bowled
four overs picking up two wickets in the last over conceding 10 runs.

Nepal had a sedate start and
lost Paras (nine) in the fourth over with just 11 runs on the board. They were
quickly reduced to 14-3 before Gyanendra and Dipendra tried to resurrect the
innings with a 32-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Gyanendra, who was the last
Nepali batsman to get dismissed top scored for the team with a run-a-ball 43
that included three fours and a six. Dipendra hit two boundaries in his 13-ball
16. Abinash Bohora (13) was the only other batsman to make runs in double figures.

Soumya Sarkar, Mahedi Hasan, Tanvir Islam and
Sumon Khan took two wickets each for Bangladesh who will now compete Sri Lanka
for the gold medal match on Monday. The two Test playing sides are yet to meet
in the group stage game.