The last time both Nepal U-19 and Afghanistan U-19 played each other, it was in the global Qualifiers for ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. Afghanistan U-19 were comfortable winners on the day as Nepal’s batting let them down to challenge the Afghan boys.
Both will again square-off in the Semifinal of the U-19 Asia Cup at the same venue now and while Afghanistan U-19 started the giant slayer routine taking out Pakistan U-19 in their opening game, Nepal U-19 did the unthinkable by uprooting India U-19 in their 2nd group match.
Familiar teams and knowledge against each other will have advantages for both the camps with Afghanistan U-19 having the edge over Nepal U-19 in terms of batting and while Nepali bowlers have done an exceptional job to match the efforts of their Afghan counterparts, their batsmen now need to step up and put together a strong batting performance to challenge the Afghan U-19 team.
Much will be anticipated from the likes of Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Anil Sah, Shahab Alam & Co. from the Nepali camp whereas Afghanistan U-19 will once again rely on their bowlers to do the job and set up the match for the team. Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Zadran, Darwish Rasooli & Co have been in excellent form this past week and will look to replicate their performances again in the Semifinal.
Whoever wins the match will enter their maiden International U-19 tournament Final and will have the chance to also become the first time winners of the coveted U-19 event in the Asian region.
