269/8 (49.2)
CR : 5.45
268/9 (50.0)
CR : 5.36
Ireland won by 2 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Curtis Campher
1/1562(59)
49.1
1
G Jha to G Delany
Over the wicket. Short of length delivery outside the off. Delany swings across the line but gets it off the cue end of the bat that rolls down to short covers for a single.
49.2
4
G Jha to B McCarthy
FOUR!! That's it, McCarthy has done it for his side and Ireland win by 2 wickets in a last-over thriller match. Short of length delivery width outside the off. McCarthy hangs back and cuts it towards the backward point. The ball beats the fielder in the ring to his left and races away for a boundary.
IRE won by 2 wickets
08.31 PM IST, 05.01 PM Local | What
a nail-biting game this was, Ireland held
their nerves till the end and registered victory in their last league stage
game in ICC WCQ 2023. They chase down the target in 49.2 balls and defeated Nepal by
2 wickets.
Earlier, Ireland won the toss and elected to field. Nepal's opening batsmen Kushal Bhurtel and Arjun Saud made a cautious start but struggled to maintain momentum. Bhurtel fell early, scoring only 8 runs, followed by Gyanendra Malla who contributed just 7 runs. Skipper Rohit Paudel and Arjun then tried to rebuild the innings before Curtis Campher dismissed Paudel for 29 runs. Arjun fell just short of a half-century.
Bhim Sharki and Kushal Malla stabilized the innings with a 59-run partnership for the 5th wicket, but Sharki was dismissed for 20 runs. Kushal played assertively but couldn't reach a fifty, departing on 44 runs. Sandeep Lamichhane and Gulshan Jha provided a late surge, adding 80 runs for the 8th wicket. Lamichhane scored 32 runs, while Jha remained unbeaten on 57 runs, guiding Nepal to a competitive total of 268 runs.
For Ireland, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, and Craig Young took two wickets each, with Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, and Andy McBrine chipping in with one wicket each.
In their pursuit of a target of 269 runs, Ireland faced early setbacks, losing two crucial wickets within the first six overs. However, they managed to steady their innings and reached 46 runs at the 10-over mark with two wickets down. Andy McBrine contributed 17 runs, while skipper Andrew Balbirnie fell early with just one run to his name.
Paul Stirling and Harry Tector then formed a vital partnership of 37 runs before Stirling departed after scoring 15 runs. Subsequently, Tector and Lorcan Tucker added 58 runs for the fourth wicket before Tucker was dismissed for 24. Tector, on the other hand, played a crucial knock, reaching his half-century and ultimately getting out at 60 runs off 76 balls.
Following Tector's dismissal, Curtis Campher and George Dockrell took charge and built an impressive partnership of 84 runs for the sixth wicket. Campher played a brilliant innings, scoring 62 runs off 59 balls, while Dockrell contributed 33 runs. Gareth Delany and Mark Adair then guided Ireland towards victory, crossing the finish line in 49.2 overs with two wickets in hand.
Nepal's bowlers created opportunities with a couple of chances, but their fielders failed to capitalize, dropping catches. Karan KC was the standout bowler, conceding 58 runs in his 10 overs and taking four wickets. Kishore Mahato claimed two wickets, while Gulshan Jha and Sandeep Lamichhane each took one wicket.
Stick around for the post-match presentation…
Curtis Campher (Player of the match): "Yeah, I think the good game of cricket in the end. Yeah, the wicket was a bit wet and the overcast condition was favoring us and we just kept simple."
Rohit Paudel (Nepal Captain): "I think we fought till the end. Credit to Gulshan for the way he batted in the first innings. Everyone chipped in and I think batting first and defending around 270 was a good score on the board, and coming to bowling we bowled really well in the beginning and then Campher played really well. Few lapses in the ground and few dropped catches, and I think when we play against the full members we need to be on top of the game in every area.
He (Gulshan) has grown as a very good player, and we have been investing in him and he is proving it. I think we as a team always want to play good game and the spirit of the game, and Kushal just showed today."
He (Gulshan) has grown as a very good player, and we have been investing in him and he is proving it. I think we as a team always want to play good game and the spirit of the game, and Kushal just showed today."
Andrew Balbirnie (Ireland Captain): "Yeah I think more comfortable in the end, close game and nice to win this. Yeah, they performed well and hopefully will play more in the future. Really played well in the middle order and middle order keep us in this tournament. The bowlers did well at starting but in the last stage, we gave more runs. Yeah, we want to qualify but anyway in the future, we have T20 World Cup and will definitely try in the next ODI World Cup."
That's it from this Qualifier match. We will be back with more action from the World Cup Qualifiers tomorrow and for other cricketing actions across the globe, stick around to our network. For now, this is Saipavan Janaki signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Deepak Prakash alongside scorer/analyst Ghanendra Singh Thakur. Stay safe, enjoy and Goodnight.
Gulshan Jha
17 yrs
Best67
Innings16
Runs313
SR73.82
Avg34.77
Gulshan Jha
17 yrs
Best3/28
Innings16
Wickets13
Economy6.57
Avg32.28