Nepal wrapped up their ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign with a 132-run defeat against defending champions India in their last Super Six Group 1 match at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Friday.
Chasing a massive 298-run target, Nepal could only manage 165-9 in 50 overs, owing to yet another batting failure.
Nepal had lost their Group 1 match against Bangladesh by five wickets on Wednesday. In the group stage, Nepal lost their opening two matches of Group D against New Zealand (by 64 runs) and Pakistan (by five wickets) but had shocked Afghanistan by one wicket to progress into the Super Six as a third-placed team. It was their third Super Six (previously Super League) in their eight World Cup appearances.
The win sent India, who are looking to win their sixth U-19 World Cup crown, into their fifth consecutive semi-finals.
In the chase, Nepal made a good start to their innings, with openers Arjun Kumal and Deepak Bohara adding 48 runs for the opening stand.
After Raj Limbani broke their stand removing Bohara for 22 in the 13.2 overs, Saumy Pandey struck three times to remove Uttam Magar (8), Kumal (26) and Bishal Bikram KC (1).
Nepal soon slipped to 77-7 after Arshin Kulkarni dismissed Deepak Dumre for a duck and Gulsan Jha for one, and Dipesh Kandel (0) fell to Murugan Abhishek.
The writing was on the wall but captain Dev Khanal battled alone scoring 33 before Pandey bowled out his resistance in the 38.5 overs for his fourth wicket of the match.
Aakash Chand (18 not out) and Durgesh Gupta (29 not out) then batted out full 50 overs, making a 45-run partnership for the 10th wicket.
Earlier, India underlined their dominance with the bat posting 297-5 with help from centuries from Sachin Dhas and captain Uday Saharan.
India lost three quick wickets and were reeling at 62-3 in the 14th over when Gulsan Jha removed opener Adarsh Singh for 21 with his short-ball tactic before Priyanshu Moliya (18)—caught by wicketkeeper Uttam Magar—and Arshin Kulkarni (19) fell in the space of two balls.
But Dash and Saharan put on a 215-run stand for the fourth wicket with their controlled batting to lead India to a huge total.
Dash scored 116 runs off 101 balls that included 11 hits to the fences and three maximums, while Sharan smashed 100 runs facing 107 deliveries that featured nine boundaries.
Jha returned the match figures of 3-56 including the wicket of Dash, caught by Deepak Bohara in the 47.4 overs, and Saharan, caught by Subash Bhandari in the fourth ball of the 50th over.
Tournament hosts South Africa also progressed into the semis as Group 2 runners-up after thrashing Sri Lanka by 119 runs in Potchefstroom. South Africa have six points.
Australia advanced as group winners with seven points. They shared a point with the West Indies due to bad weather in Kimberley.
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