KABUL Twenty20 Qualifiers in the UAE, an official said on Friday.
Batting first in the rain-shortened seven overs match, Nepal’s openers put on 34 runs for the first wicket before wicketkeeper Subash Khakurel was dismissed for 16, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) spokesman told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Farid Hotak said opposition skipper Paras Khadka departed an over later for only 4, followed by Sagar Pun and Khakurel. Thanks to a fiery bowling spell from Mirwais Ashraf, Nepal were restricted to 73 runs for the loss of three wickets.
Afghanistan took a flying start, as Shahzad and Nawroz Mangal smashed 52 runs in just 4.2 overs. After Mangal’s removal, Captain Mohammad Nabi joined Shahzad.
As Nepali bowlers were thrashed, Shahzad whacked a towering six to power Afghanistan to an easy nine-wicket win — fifth in a row for the national side. He remained not out on 43 off 22 balls, with three boundaries and as many sixes.
Emerging as group leaders as a result of the emphatic victory, Afghanistan will take on Kenya in the next outing, according to Hotak, who said the national squad would book a birth berth in the final to be held in March in Bangladesh
Group B includes Afghanistan, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Scotland and Bermuda. Ireland, Canada, the UAE, Namibia, Hong Kong, Uganda, the USA and Italy make up Group A.
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