Hosts Ireland, Canada, Nepal, Kenya and Namibia registered wins on the opening day of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Dublin, Ireland.
Nitish Kumar of Canada scored an unbeaten 100 off 93 balls against Scotland on day one. Photo by Shiek Mohamed
All the games on the opening day were delayed owing to overnight rains and wet outfield. Two of the five games played were shortened affairs due to wet outfield.
Canada played Scotland in one of the shortened games and produced one of the thrillers for the day. In a contest reduced to 35 overs a side, Canada posted 212 for 3 in the stipulated overs at the North County Cricket Club.
Opener and Man of the Match Nitish Kumar scored an unbeaten 100 off 93 balls, to score the first century of the tournament, with 11 boundaries and two sixes to power Canada to an impressive total. He got good support from Kyle Edghill (36) and Rayyan Pathan’s unbeaten 44 off 24 balls helped give Canada the momentum.
Scotland lost wickets early on, but the innings was revived thanks to a fifth wicket stand of 76 runs between Peter Ross (43) and Aman Bailwal (63: 56b, 7×4, 1×6). Scotland thereafter suffered a late-order collapse. Left to get 11 runs in the final over, Scotland was bowled out for 206 with two balls to spare.
Jobanjot Singh (4-39), Pathan (3-36) and skipper Kesavan Juvarajan (2-29) shared the wickets around for Canada.
Kumar was thrilled to have played a part in the exciting win for Canada: “I started off a bit slow. It was seaming around a bit and the pitch was a bit damp. But once I scored 16 runs off one over, it got me going. I made the most of the batting powerplay. They bowled well, so I ran lots of singles to break the momentum. They batted well and sensibly in the chase. But our bowlers were amazing. This win will give us a lot of confidence.’’
At the Clontarf Cricket Club, hosts Ireland snatched a thrilling win over USA. Ireland asked USA to bat first after delayed start, which did not result in any loss of overs.
USA lost wickets in a cluster but late charge by Jodhbir Singh Sandhu (36), Salman Ahmad (21) and Shayan Abdulghani (20) helped it end on 177 for nine in its 50 overs. Barry McCarthy (3-32) and Andrew McBrine (2-21) shared the wickets around for the home team.
Ireland slipped to 86 for 6 in its chase before Graeme McCarter (35) and Man of the Match Adam Coughlan (49) infused life into the chase with a 46 run seventh wicket stand. Towards the end, Ireland lost wickets in a cluster to be tentatively placed at 175 for nine with still three runs to get. Joshua Hall’s straight drive for four helped Ireland pull off a thrilling win with one ball to spare.
Coughlan was a relieved man in the end after the win: “It was a crucial knock for the team. I was keen to finish the match, but unfortunately got out. Thankfully the guys at the end held their nerves well. It was a good team effort. The guys bowled well, so it was important for the batters to end it well.’’
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.’’
Kenya kicked off its campaign with a comprehensive 133-run win over Vanuatu in a game curtailed to 38 overs a side at the Merrion Cricket Club. Batting first, Kenya posted 235 for four in 38 overs. Skipper Kennedy Ochieng led from the front with an unbeaten 85 off 114 balls with seven hits to the fence. Handy knocks by Duncan Allan (47) and Irfan Karim’s 54 (81 balls, 6×4, 2×6) helped Kenya’s charge.
Allan then followed up his batting with three catches and a spell of 2-17. Rahul Vishram with 4 for 9 was the best bowler on view.
Man of the Match Allan was happy with the confident start by his side. “It was a really good start for the guys. It was a comprehensive win. I liked the way I played because I upped the ante at the right time. I was disappointed that I did not make a few more. It was a good confident way to start the competition for us.’’
Namibia got off its campaign on to a winning start with a 89-run win over Papua New Guinea at the Hills Cricket Club. Namibia was bowled out for 232 in 49 overs. Justin Baard (49), skipper Stephen Baard (44), Zhivago Groenwald (44) played crucial knocks for Namibia.
Groenwald (3-16) then combined well with Christopher Coome (3-26) to bowl out Papua New Guinea for 143 in 40.3 overs. Groenwald’s all-round performance fetched him the Man of the Match award.
Groenwald reckoned that his knock came in at the right time: “It was a good knock because a bit of momentum was needed in the middle. I consider myself an all-rounder, so it was important for me to back up the lead bowlers. I am glad that my contribution helped the side kick off the campaign well.’’
Tomorrow’s fixtures will see Ireland play Afghanistan at North County, Nepal will face Scotland at Merrion, Canada play Kenya at The Hills, Vanuatu will take on Namibia at YMCA and PNG plays USA at Leinster.
Score summaries (Day One):
At Clontarf Cricket Club: USA U19 179 for 9, 50 overs (Sandhu 36, Taylor 28; McCarthy 3-32, McBrine 2-21)
Ireland U19 180 for 9, 49.5 overs (Coughlan 49, McCarter 35; Ahmad 3-29, Sandhu 3-33, Patel 2-30)
Ireland U19 won by one wicket
At Leinster Cricket Club: Nepal U19 154, 44.3 overs (Khakurel 54, Rahman 26; Naseri 2-7, Shirzai 2-30, Shirzad 2-31)
Afghanistan U19 112 all out, 37.5 overs (Shaidi 29, Paak 24; Vishvakarma 4-23, Baskota 3-22)
Nepal U19 won by 42 runs
At North County Cricket Club: Canada U19 212 for 3, 35 overs (Kumar 100 n.o., Pathan 44 n.o., Edghill 36; Bailwal 2-42)
Scotland U19 206 all out, 34.4 overs (Bailwal 63, Ross 44, Coleman 35; Singh 4-48, Juvarajan 2-29)
Canada U19 won by six runs
At Merrion Cricket Club: Kenya U19 235 for 4, 38 overs (Patel 85 n.o., Karim 54, Allan 47; Matautaava 2-53)
Vanuatu U19 Vanuatu U19 102 all out, 32.3 overs (Nipiko 25; Vishram 4-9 Allan 2-17, Shikotra 2-26)
Kenya U19 won by 133 runs
At The Hills Cricket Club: Namibia 232 all out, 49 overs (J Baard 49, SJ Baard 44, Groenewald 44; Amini 3-38, Tom 2-34)
PNG U19 143 all out, 40.3 overs (Tom 41 not out; Groenwald 3-16, Coombe 3-26, Engelbrecht 2-36)
Namibia U19 won by 89 runs
Report courtesy of ICC.
