Sharad Vesawkar has established himself as a mainstay in the national team and it should not be a wonder for many that he scored 153 runs against Baitadi in the Under-19 National League.
The inaugural match of the Wai Wai U-19 National League saw a brilliant batting from the man who has already played 21 international matches for national U-19 team including two Youth World Cups. Coming at No 3 when his team, Region No 3 Kathmandu was 30/2 in the seventh over, Sharad ensured that his captain Paras Khadka’s decision to bat first was worth something.
He sayed for 127 balls, hit 20 fours and three sixes for 153 runs and was run out in 45th over when his team had already scored 280. He batted with such a dominance that bowlers from Region No 6 Baitadi could do little. He shared vital partnerships with Gyanendra Malla (28) for 89 runs and Sunam Gautam (37) for 121 runs.
Dipen Shrestha (22 not out) and Rom Shrestha (18 not out in 14 balls) stayed till the end as Kathmandu reached 326/6 in 50 overs. Chandra Saud was the most successful bowler with two early wickets but he went of 62 runs while Dilliraj Joshi was the most expensive going for 0/85 in his 10 overs.
There was no way for inexperienced Baitadi to topple that score and Paras Khadka and Raman Shrestha made is impossible. Paras took three in his first four overs reducing Baitadi for 9/3 and Raman took last four in his four overs as the far westerners went down from 24/6 to 31 all out in 23 overs. In between, Rom Shrestha took two wickets and Abhaya Rana claimed one.
The lone batsman to reach double figure, 10, was Ashok Chand while five were out without scoring as Kathmandu made a brilliant start with a 295-run victory.
Brief Score: Kathmandu 326/6 (S Vesawkar 153, S Gautam 37, C Saud 2/62) defeated Baitadi 31 all out in 23 overs (A Chand 10, R Shrestha 4/4, P Khadka 3/7) by 295 runs. Man of the Match: Sharad Vesawkar