| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 5 Sept 2016 | Asia Samachar |
By Jagmeet Singh
Virandeep Singh, skipper of the Malaysian U-19 Cricket team, played an influential role as Malaysia successfully chased the 156 run target set by United Arab Emirate (UAE) to qualify for the final of the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers (Division 2).
Malaysia will face Singapore in the finals on Thursday (6 Oct 2016) at 9.30am at Kinrara Oval, Puchong.
Both Malaysia and Singapore have been promoted to the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers Division 1 and have also qualified for the U-19 Asia Cup 2016, to be held in Sri Lanka in December. The Asia Cup will feature heavyweights India and Pakistan amongst others.
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Batting first in the semi-final on Wednesday, UAE initially made a good start as they raced to 91-1.
However, an inspired bowling spell by Virandeep Singh caused their batting unit to collapse to 155 all out. Chasing 156 runs to win in the second innings, Malaysia got off to a rocky start when they were quickly reduced to 24-3. Batting at number three, Virandeep played an influential knock scoring 44 runs, helping Malaysia reach the target fairly easily in the end.
Post-match, Virandeep said it was important for the team to hold their nerves throughout the match.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have qualified for the U-19 Asia Cup on merit. Thank you to everyone who believed in us. It is an honour to lead this talented side,” he told Asia Samachar.
“The support we received from our home crowd motivated us to give our best, especially when UAE put us under tremendous pressure. We are all very thankful for the overwhelming support.”
The Malaysian U-19 skipper said that the focus now shifts to the finals, adding: “We will give it our all in the final match tomorrow against Singapore.”
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