KATHMANDU, Aug 31: Aarif Sheikh's four-wicket haul helped Nepal thrash host Malaysia by eight wickets in the ACC U-19 Premier League on Monday. The victory revived Nepal's hopes of clinching the title of the cricket tournament being held in Kuala Lumpur.
With the win, Nepal secured second position in the points table with four points from three matches, while Malaysia slipped one position down to third despite having four points from three matches due to inferior net run rate.
One of the title favorites Afghanistan, which humiliated the UAE by 10 wickets on Monday, is in the first position after having won all three matches.
At the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Nepal's opener Ashish Dhami scored unbeaten 38 runs facing 40 balls that included six fours, while Rajbir Singh added 33 runs off 38 balls smashing five boundaries to help Nepal chase 76-run target just in 14.4 overs losing two wickets.
Nepal lost opener Sunil Dhamala (3) in the second over while chasing the low total. However, Ashish and Rajbir shared a 62-run stand for the second wicket before Rajbir was caught off Virandeep Singh off Pavandeep Singh in the 12.6 over. Syed Aziz of Malaysia bagged the wicket of Sunil.
Earlier, winning the toss and opting to bat first, Malaysian batsmen easily surrendered against Nepal's disciplined bowling and could bat only 38 overs to compile 75 runs.
Only three Malaysian batsmen could reach double digit figures after Nepali bowlers started claiming wickets from the very first over.
Dipesh Shrestha, who claimed two wickets, gave Nepal the breakthrough in the fourth ball of the first over as Nepal claimed wickets at regular interval.
Malaysia lost seven wickets with only 45 runs on board till 21.1 overs. However, Pavandeep (17 runs off 72 balls) and unbeaten Vimalan Polaniandy (12 off 55) tried to bring Malaysia back in contention by adding 27 runs for the eighth wicket.
But, after Pavendeep was caught by Sushil Kandel off Aarif in the 33.2 over, Malaysia lost the remaining two wickets adding only three runs.
Opener Shankar Sathish (13 off 20) also added runs in double figures for Malaysia.
Player-of-the-match Aarif claimed four wickets giving away only 18 runs in his 10-over spell that included three maiden overs. Similarly, Dipesh conceded 28 runs in nine overs as he maintained four maiden overs.
Likewise, Dipendra Singh Airee claimed two wickets bowling four overs and giving away 11 runs, while Sushil Kandel was economic as he gave away only eight runs in 10 overs to claim a wicket. Sushil maintained six maiden overs.
Nepal will face Kuwait in its fourth match on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan chased 89-run target given by the UAE in 12.5 overs to win its third match in a row, while Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by 124 runs to register its first win.
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