Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Nepal victory means SA must win

February 19, 2004 20:08 IST

Nepal beat Uganda by five wickets on Thursday at the M.A. Aziz Stadium in Chittagong to set up a mouth-watering climax to Group B between South Africa and England tomorrow.

Nepal's win means that South Africa must beat England to keep their hopes of progressing to the Super League alive.

Nepal produced the shock of the tournament on Wednesday in beating South Africa by one wicket but were made to work hard for a second victory by a determined Uganda side.

Uganda won the toss and elected to bat, progressing to 91 for 1 off 28 overs with Kintu Wambudhe contributing 46 and Denis Musali making 32.

Lakpa Lama lead the Nepal fightback picking up four wickets for 40 runs as Uganda were pegged back to 194 all out in the fiftieth over.                                     

Nepal captain Shakti Gauchan carried on from where he left off against South Africa with a second consecutive match-winning innings. Gauchan followed yesterday's patient fifty with 80 not out to guide his side to victory with 11 balls to spare.

Man of the match Gauchan was ably supported by Monick Shrestha (30) and Sharad Vesawkar (23).

Nepal must now hope England beat South Africa at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium on Friday.