By a Staff Reporter
Nepal National U20 team shared a spoil against Bangladesh in an ongoing SAFF U20 Championship. The match ended with a 1-1 draw at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
The game turned out to be 10A side as players from the both teams were booked with a red card in the 51st minute of the match. Shahidul Islam of Bangladesh and Dipesh Gurung of Nepal were sent off the filed as they were involved in the clash. Dipesh was booked with direct red whereas Shaidul was sent off following a double yellow card. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s skipper Md Tanvir Hossain was booked with a yellow and Rohit Gurung of Nepal, who was in the dugout also got booked with a red card.
Bangladesh took an initial lead in the 63rd minute of the match. Md Piash Ahmmed Nova tapped in the ball following a cross from Md Rafiqul Islam from right side of the box. Super sub Nirajan Malla dribbled past the Bangladesh defender and scored the equalizer for Nepal in the 68th minute.
With a draw against Nepal, Bangladesh booked its spot to the finals of SAFF U20 Championship 2022 remaining undefeated. The other finalist will be decided later this afternoon.
Nepal will qualify to the finals only if Maldives defeats India in the second match of the day. Else Nepal will end its journey of the SAFF U20 championship.
Bangladesh is leading the competition points table with 10 points from 4 matches. Nepal climbed to second bagging 7 points. India stands third with 6 points. Sri Lanka and Maldives have already found their way out of the competition.
