UAE storm into ACC U-19 Elite Cup final

A blistering century from Shorye Chopra and an outstanding all-round performance from man-in-form Dan D’Souza helped UAE cruise into the final of the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Elite Cup tournament, a qualifier for the Under-19 World Cup, in Malaysia.

Though UAE have already qualified to the World Cup being the host nation, they have proved to be no pushovers in this tournament entering the final.

In the semi-finals on Friday, UAE humbled Nepal by a huge margin of 76 runs and will take on Afghanistan in the final on Saturday, May 11.

Afghanistan, who are unbeaten in this tournament so far, defeated Malaysia in the other semifinals.

Put in to bat first, UAE lost three wickets for just 32 runs with only Adnaan Khan scoring a quick 20 from 16 balls including five fours.

D’Souza, who has had a wonderful tournament so far, stopped Nepal from further domination.

But the day belonged to Chopra who played a memorable knock.

Both D’Souza and Chopra shared a mammoth 171-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Chopra, in particular, was very impressive mixing caution with aggression. His sterling knock of 114 that came off 115 balls was studded with 17 fours and a six.

D’Souza score 58 runs in 105 balls with two fours perfectly complementing his more aggressive partner.

Sajid Khan smashed a 24-ball 26 and skipper Rohit Singh hit 15 of 14 deliveries as UAE amassed 271 for seven in 50 overs.

Chasing an improbable target, Nepal lost a wicket early but Harishankar Shah steadied the innings to score a gritty 52 with Nirmal Thapa doing his best to score 23, but D’Souza bowled a fiery spell to shatter Nepal’s backbone claiming four wickets from his 10 overs.

Bhuvan Karki surged a late fight back scoring a 48-ball 41 but with a tall target to chase Nepal succumbed to 195 in 46.1 overs.

Saurabhkant Gir was the other successful bowler to take two wickets.

Brief scores:

UAE bt Nepal by 76 runs

UAE 271 for 7 in 50 overs (Adnaan Khan 20, Dan D’Souza 58, Shorye Chopra 114, Sajid Khan 26, Rohit Singh 15; Avinash Karn 3 for 65). Nepal: 195 all out in 46.1 overs (Harishankar Shah 52, Nirmal Thapa 23, Bhuvan Karki 41; Dan D’Souza 4 for 46, Saurabhkant Gir 2 for 28). Man of the Match: Shorye Chopra.