KATHMANDU, Aug 15: Nepal will face Ireland in the second league match of the ICC U-19 World Cup at the Endeavour Park in Townsville, Australia on Wednesday.
Nepal must overcome Ireland in its second match of Group A and beat England in the very next game on Thursday to confirm its place in the super league.
Australia qualified for the super league as the group winner while England is in the second position with a win and a defeat. Ireland is at the bottom of the table with two defeats from as many matches.
Nepal has to come up with improved performance in all three departments -- batting, bowling and fielding -- to defeat Ireland. Nepal had faced a humiliating 212-run defeat against host Australia in the first match of the tournament. If Nepal wins the matches against Ireland and England, it will enter the super league of the World Cup for the first time after 2000.
Nepal has a good record against the Irish team. Nepal had registered two wins from as many matches in previous encounters. In their first meeting during the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2006, Nepal had defeated Ireland by 60 runs. Nepal had scored 234 runs -- the highest score of Nepal in the U-19 World Cup. Sharad Vesawkar had scored 82 runs for the team. Ireland managed to score 174 runs despite 86 runs from Ian Morgan.
Nepal had registered a 10-run victory against Ireland during the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers held in Ireland. Nepal was declared winner according to the Duckworth Lewis method after rain disrupted the match. Nepal had scored 187 runs losing seven wickets in 46 overs. Sagar Pun had scored 50 runs. With a four-wicket haul by Rahul BK, Nepal restricted Ireland to 175 runs.
Nepal´s real test will be against England as it has faced four defeats in as many matches during previous encounters in the World Cup.
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