HARARE: Harry Tector and Curtis Campher scored half-centuries and propelled Ireland to a narrow two-wicket victory over Nepal and finish seventh in the ongoing Cricket World Cup (CWC) Qualifier.
Put into bat first, Nepal piled up a decent total of 268/9 on the scoreboard at the back of a collective effort by their batters, led by Gulshan Jha’s half-century.
Batting first, Nepal had a shaky start to their innings as they were 44/2 in the 13th over after opener Kushal Bhurtel (8) and Gyanendra Malla (7) perished cheaply.
Following the slump, opening batter Arjun Saud got the support of his skipper Rohit Paudel and the duo added 50 runs for the third wicket until the latter fell in the 23rd over.
Paudel scored 29 off 35 balls with the help of two boundaries and a six.
Nepal were then jolted by another blow in the span of three overs as Saud was trapped by Gareth Delany and fell just two short of his half-century. He scored 48 off 84 balls, hitting three boundaries and two sixes.
Middle-order batter Kushal Malla took the reigns of Nepal’s batting effort after Saud’s dismissal as he scored a quickfire 44 off 38 balls and put on an important 59-wicket partnership for the fifth wicket with Bhim Sharki, who scored 20.
With the side struggling at 169/7 in 37.2 overs, lower-order batters Gulshan Jha and Sandeep Lamichhane stitched an astounding 80-run partnership for the eighth wicket.
The pair frustrated Irish bowlers until Mark Adair got rid of Lamichhane in the penultimate over. He played a vital 32-run knock on 30 deliveries.
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Gulshan Jha, on the other hand, carried his bat all the way through and scored a gritty 57 off 42 balls, smashing four boundaries and three sixes.
For Ireland, Craig Young, Adair and Barry McCarthy bagged two wickets each.
Set to chase 269, Ireland amassed the total on the second delivery of the final over for the loss of eight wickets.
Ireland had a shaky start to the run chase as they were 23/2 in the sixth over after Andy McBrine (17) and Andy Balbirine (1) fell in successive overs.
Following back-to-back blows, Harry Tector joined Paul Stirling (15) in the middle and put on a brief 37-run partnership which lasted when Gulshan Jha castled the latter in the 12th over.
Tector then stitched another crucial partnership for Ireland when he added 58 runs for the fourth wicket with Lorcan Tucker before both fell in quick successions, leaving Ireland reeling at 134/5 in 26 overs.
Tector scored 60 off 76 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and two sixes while Tucker could score 24 off 22.
Curtis Campher then stood up for Ireland in the run chase and played a crucial knock and pave the way for his side to pull off the victory.
Campher top-scored for Ireland with a 59-ball 62 which featured eight boundaries and a six.
Following his dismissal, George Dockrell (33), Gareth Delany (16) and Mark Adair (18) made important contributions at the end of a tense run chase.
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