By a Staff Reporter
Dubai – Nepal secured a convincing victory against Malaysia in an ongoing ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers at Malek Cricket Ground in Ajman. Nepal won the match by 10 wickets, with 246 balls remaining, and is now one step away to qualify for the U19 World Cup.
Malaysia, who won the toss and elected to bat first was bowled out for a total of 72 runs in 35.3 overs. Nepal’s bowler Dipesh Kandel was the star performer, taking 4 wickets in 10 overs with 4 maidens, conceding only 11 runs. In Addition, Aakash Chand took 3 wickets, while Milan Bohara 2 and Subash Bhandari claimed 1 wicket to restrict Malaysia to 72.
Malaysia’s Muhammad Akram Abd Malek was the highest scorer with 26 runs off 51 deliveries, including 3 boundaries. Other batsmen to contribute in double digits were Mohammad Hairil Harisan and Muhammad Syahir Syameel Shaari with 12 runs each. The remaining batsmen struggled, with Sidarth Karthik Rajaratnam 1, Muhammad Aalif Shamsul Bahrin 4, Sidarth Neelakantan 3, Shivnarin Rahul Rajatnam 1, Muhammad Azri Azhar Amaluz Zaman 5, and Hamzah Panggi adding 2 runs to the tally. Meanwhile, Muhammad Aiman Zaquan Ridzuan and Haziq Haiqal Idris departed for a duck out.
In response, Nepal’s openers Deepak Bohara and Arjun Kumal chased the target of 73 runs comfortably, with Deepak scoring 38 runs and Arjun scoring 21 runs. The pair achieved the winning target in just 9 overs.
Nepal now needs to defeat UAE on March 2 to qualify for the World Cup. The qualifier is being hosted by the UAE, with Nepal, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, and Singapore competing.
