Nepal stun Kiwis in Plate Final

The Nepalese U19 side shocked New Zealand by one wicket in the final of the Plate Championship as the lower places were decided on the penultimate day’s play in Colombo.

Amrit Bhattarai struck twice in his second over of the game, sending back Martin Guptill and then semi-final centurion Andrew de Boorder first ball. Skipper Marc Ellison added a tortured 50-ball six, but Todd Astle stood firm at the top of the order for 66 and the middle order added cameo twenties. Nepal kept themselves in with a chance, nonetheless, as Sharad Vesawkar and Basant Regmi shared five wickets to strangle and dismiss the lower order. The final tally stood at 204, as the last four New Zealanders fell for 12 runs in just 20 balls.

Even with their revival, the Nepalese side seemed out of the game at the halfway stage in their reply, as Paras Khadka edged behind off Hamish Bennett to reduce his side to 75 for six. This only served to bring Regmi to the middle, and in partnership with Prem Chaudhary they added 70 for the eighth wicket – but with eight overs to go, Chaudary fell for 26 and Nepal still needed 60.

One over later, supersub Sashi Kesari had come and gone, and it was down to Ratan Rauniyar to keep the run chase alive with Regmi, and as the Kiwis began to feel the pressure, misfields crept into the game. Suddenly there was a run-chase on. 34 from four overs became nine from one, albeit with Regmi back in the pavilion. Experience would surely come to the fore – yet the New Zealanders conceded a no-ball penalty for having an insufficient number of men inside the circle.

The game was going – and the next ball, it was gone. Rauniyar was 26 not out from just 19 balls, with number eleven Raj Shrestha unbeaten on three from as many balls. Nepal were home, Nepal were the Plate Champions, and the Kiwis were beaten.

New Zealand 204
Todd Astle 66, Shaun Fitzgibbon 29
Basant Regmi 3-41, Amrit Bhattarai 2-25

Nepal 205-9
Basant Regmi 66, Ratan Rauniyar 26*
Hamish Bennett 3-42, Martin Guptill 2-26

Nepal won by one wicket

Meanwhile, in the other playoff matches, Bangladesh easily defeated Sri Lanka for fifth, and Ireland accounted for Uganda in the 13th-place decider. Twin sixties from Saqibul Hasan and Mehrab Hossain alongside a rollicking 42 from Suhrawadi Shuvo were the centrepice of the Tigers’ imposing total of 278. Shalika Karunanayake took four wickets, but when captain Sameera de Zoysa fell in the first over of the Sri Lankan reply, there was only likely to be one winner. Dilhan Cooray managed 58, and supersub Malinda Pushpakumara was unbeaten on 21, but spinners Shuvo, Hossain and Rezaul Islam took two wickets apiece and Sri Lanka crumbled to 180 all out.

Uganda were unable to deal with Ireland’s spinners, Gary Kidd, James Hall and Greg Thompson. The three slow bowlers sent down thirty overs for 84 runs, adding three wickets into the bargain as the African side stumbled to 165 for eight from their alloted overs, Jimmy Okello making 45. Patrick Ochan was the pick of the Uganda bowlers, taking two for 26, but aside from a brief moment as they fell to 31 for two, the Irish never seemed like failing to complete their chase. Captain Eoin Morgan was unbeaten on 60 as they did so with more than 14 overs to spare.

Bangladesh 278 (Saqibul Hasan 67, KPSP Karunanayake 4-63)
beat
Sri Lanka 180 (PDMA Cooray 58, Mehrab Hossain 2-13)

Uganda 165-8 (J Okello 45, GE Kidd 2-26)
lost to
Ireland 166-4 (EJG Morgan 60*, P Ochan 2-26)