ACC Emerging Teams Cup: India U-23 beat Nepal by 84 runs

Suryakumar Yadav, India U-23 captain

India U-23 beat Nepal by 84 runs in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Teams Cup to win the match in convincing fashion.

This is the Indian team’s second win from as many matches in the tournament, which is being played at Singapore. The win gives India a healthy chance to qualify for the semi-finals.

In a Group A encounter, India U-23 had beaten the Pakistan U-23 team in their first game of the tournament by three wickets. They were, however, far more dominant against Nepal, with India captain Suryakumar Yadav producing an outstanding performance which earned him the man of the match award.

Yadav scored 69 of 35 balls in a swashbuckling innings that powered India U-23 to a score of 268 for 5. He later bowled some useful medium pace and picked up 1 for for 21 from eight overs.

India were put into bat and got off to a good start through their openers Unmukt Chand and KL Rahul who added 118 for the opening wicket. Slow left-arm bowler, Basant Regmi emerged as Nepal’s highest wicket taker by picking three wickets. Regmi was, however, taken for 90 runs from his ten overs, thereby making him the most expensive bowler as well.

After the fall of the openers, it was time for Yadav’s blitzkrieg. With eight hits to the fence and two over it, the captain helped India plunder 107 in the last 13 overs.

The top order batsmen of Nepal never made use of the starts that they got and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The no.9 batsmen for Nepal, Sagar Pun ended up being the top scorer for the team, making 52 of 61 balls.

The Indian team used nine bowlers in a bid to mix things up and also identify their resources for upcoming games in the tournament.

Ankit Bawne picked 3 for 36 with his off spin and young fast bowler Jaspreet Bumrah picked up 2 for 35 from his seven overs. Sandeep Warrier also had a great day with figures of 2 for 7 off four overs.

Brief scorecard: India U-23: 268/5 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 88 (123), Unmukt Chand 61 (77), Suryakumar Yadav 65 (39); Basant Regmi 3-90, A Karn 1-46) beat Nepal: 184/8 in 50 overs (Subash Khakurel 29 (60), Sagar Pun 52 (61); , Ankit Bawne 3-36, Jasprit Bumrah 2-35, Sandeep Warrier 2-7).

India win by 84 runs.