Nepal shock Kiwis to win Plate final

Chasing the young Black Caps’ 204 all out off 49.2 overs, Nepal appeared on the brink of defeat at 75 for six in the 27th over, before staging a dream comeback to win with four balls to spare.

Nepal owed their victory largely to Basanta Regmi whose 66 came from 73 balls and Prem Chaudhary, who hit 26, as the two shared a stand of 70 for the seventh wicket.

When Chaudhary departed with Nepal still 60 runs adrift of their target in the 43rd over, Ratan Rauniyar slammed a cavalier unbeaten 26 from 19 balls and shared a valuable 44-run, ninth wicket stand with Regmi that all but sealed the result.

The victory looked unlikely when medium pacers Hamish Bennett (three for 42) and Colin Munro (two for 46) tore through the top order of the Nepal batting line-up to leave the innings in disarray.

Martin Guptill finished with two for 26 while Jason Donnelly grabbed two for 28. Earlier, New Zealand slipped to 12 for two in the third over before Todd Astle slammed 66 to put the innings back on course for their eventual total.

Regmi captured three for 41 with his left arm medium pace while medium pacers Amrit Bhattarai (two for 25) and Sharad Vesawkar (two for 32) chipped in with key wickets.

In the Super League lower-place play off final, Bangladesh ended hosts Sri Lanka’s poor run in the tournament by inflicting them with a comprehensive 98-run defeat at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Saqibul Hasan (67) and Mehrab Hossain Jr (66 not out) hit half centuries to form the basis of Bangladesh’s 278 for eight off 50 overs, after they were asked to bat by Sri Lanka.

Medium pacer Shalika Karunanayake was the leading bowler with four for 63.

In reply, Sri Lanka lost their first wicket for two in the first over and never recovered despite Dilhan Cooray’s 58.

Hossain (two for 13), Suhrawadi Shuvo (two for 21) and Rezaul Islam (two for 31) were the leading wicket-takers. In the Plate Championship lower-place play off at the Nondescripts Cricket Club, Ireland beat Uganda by six wickets after they reached 166 for four off 35.5 overs, in reply to 165 for eight off 50 overs.