KATHMANDU, JANUARY 26

Seamer Aakash Chand's five-wicket haul and skipper Dev Khanal's measured half-century propelled Nepal to the super-six with a one-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the ongoing ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.

With this victory, Nepal has qualified for the second round of the tournament held at Buffalo Park in East London, South Africa, on Friday.

After winning the toss, Afghanistan opted to bat first in the crunch fixture, the last game of the group stage. Nepal's seamer Aakash Chand ripped through the Afghan top order with a scintillating bowling performance, registering figures of 8-0-34-5.

Seamer Chand was later adjudged the man-of-the-match for his outstanding performance.

Afghanistan posted a meager total of 145 all out in 41 overs. Nepal secured a one-wicket victory over arch-rival Afghanistan with 32 balls to spare after restricting them to 145 all out in 41 overs.

In reply, Nepal lost three wickets in quick succession before skipper Dev Khanal steadied the ship with a measured half-century, scoring 58 runs off 89 balls with seven hits to the boundary. Dipak Bohara contributed 27 runs, while Aakash Tripathi chipped in with 16 runs to help take the team over the line.

Faridoon Dawoodzai was the pick of the Afghan bowlers with figures of 4.4-0-21-3.

Earlier, in the group games, Nepal had lost to Pakistan and New Zealand.