Nepal prevailed over Afghanistan in one of the keenly awaited contests of the day at the Leinster Cricket Club. Nepal’s wicketkeeper-batsman Subash Khakurel held the innings together with a 92 ball-54 studded with five boundaries.
Nepal was bowled out for 154 in 44.3 overs as Afghanistan bowlers shared the wickets around.
In its chase, Afghanistan was cruising at 57 for one in the 19th over when the match turned on its head. Afghanistan lost wickets at regular intervals and were soon bowled out for 112 in 38.5 overs. The best bowler for Nepal was left-arm spinner Rahul Vishvakarma (4-23) and skipper Prithu Baskota (3-19).
Man of the Match Khakurel considered his knock as a good learning experience: “It was my first experience of playing in these kinds of conditions. I wanted to bat through the innings. I felt 180 was a par score, but we ended with 154. I was confident that our spinners especially Rahul (Vishvakarma) can be lethal here. We turned it around very well. This win has given us confidence that we can beat any team because of our spinners.”