Cricket: Nepal stun silver medallists Afghanistan, spice up race to quarterfinals
Brief Score: Nepal (103/5 in 17.2 overs) beat Afghanistan (102//7 in 20 overs) by 5 wickets in a Group A match at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Friday.
Nepal pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the Asian Games men's cricket competition, beating Afghanistan by five wickets in their Group A match on Friday and throwing the race for the quarter-finals wide open.
Afghanistan, who had opened their campaign with a 48-run win over hosts Japan, were restricted to 102/7 after being sent in to bat at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. Nepal's bowlers made early inroads, with Hassan Eisakhil dismissed for a two-ball duck, Mohammad Akram falling for 2 off 8 and Karim Janat making only 9. | Nepal vs Afghanistan Scorecard |
Kushal Bhurtel was the pick of the Nepal attack, finishing with four wickets, while Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi claimed three. Afghanistan struggled to build partnerships but Faisal Shinozada and Najibullah Zadran both made 30, while Nangeyalia Kharote remained unbeaten on 17 off 15 as they reached 102/7 in their 20 overs.
Nepal's chase did not begin smoothly. Bhurtel was dismissed for a duck from the second ball of the innings and Aasif Sheikh followed for 2, leaving Nepal under pressure early.
Sundeep Jora then steadied the innings with 34 off 35 balls, while Rohit Paudel contributed 33 off 32. Their partnership helped Nepal recover before Dipendra Singh Airee added 15. Airee was dismissed with Nepal needing just one run, but Gulshan Kumar Jha hit the winning run as Nepal reached 103/5 in 17.4 overs. WHO WILL FACE INDIA IN QF?
The result has significantly complicated the Group A qualification picture. The group consists of Afghanistan, Nepal and Japan, with each team playing two matches. The top two advance to the quarter-finals, where they will join the four seeded teams - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan now have one win and one defeat from their two matches and have no game remaining. Despite the loss, they remain on top of the group on net run rate for now. Nepal have one win from one game and will face Japan in their final group match on Saturday. Japan, meanwhile, lost their opening match to Afghanistan by 48 runs.
That leaves Nepal with a clear route to the last eight: a win over Japan would take them to two points and put them in a strong position to finish in the top two. Afghanistan's fate will then depend on the result and net run rate.
The qualification battle also has a direct bearing on India. The defending champions have received direct entry into the quarter-finals and will face the second-placed team from Group A on September 28.
So Nepal's upset has done more than hand Afghanistan an early setback. It has made India's potential quarter-final opponent harder to predict, with Nepal now firmly in the race alongside Afghanistan.- Ends
