KATHMANDU: Nepal recorded an emphatic eight-wicket win over the hosts Malaysia in their ACC U-19 Premier match played at the Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

Winning toss, Malaysia chose to bat first. They were bowled out for 75 runs in 38 overs.

Nepal made 77 runs to meet the target easily with 212 balls remaining, losing two wickets only.

Aarif Sheikh was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 4-18 with three maiden overs, while Deependra Singh Airee and Deepesh Shrestha claimed two wickets each.

Hitting six fours, opener Ashish Dhami made 38 not out off 40 and Rajbir Singh added 33 off 38 -- which included five fours -- to guide Nepal to the convincing victory.

Another opener Sunil Dhamala could contribute three runs only when he had to return to the pavilion after falling in the LBW trap in the last delivery of second over.

Aarif Sheikh faced six balls and was on the crease without making any run when well-disciplined opener Dhami hit the winning shot.

In the first innings, Pavandeep Singh made 17 runs for Malaysia while Shankar Satish and Vimalan added 13 and 12 respectively. Other Malaysian batsmen could not score in double figures.

Nepal had won their first match against the United Arab Emirates while lost at the hands of Afghanistan yesterday.

Nepal are scheduled to face Kuwait on September 1.

In other matches, Afghanistan thrashed the United Arab Emirates by 10 wickets and Kuwait registered a 124-run victory over Saudi Arabia.

Batting first, the UAE were bowled out for 88 runs. Afghanistan made 90 runs in 12.5 overs without losing a wicket.

Kuwait defended the target of 251 runs by restricting Saudi Arabia to 126 in 40 overs.

After today's results, Afghanistan are on the top of the table with six points, while Nepal follow them with four points and run rate better than that of Malaysia. Nepal's net run rate is +1.464 while Malaysia's +0.864.

Teams 

M

W

L

Pts

NRR

Afghanistan

3

3

6

+3.919

Nepal

3

2

1

4

+1.464

Malaysia

3

2

1

4

+0.864

Kuwait

3

1

2

2

-0.390

UAE

3

1

2

2

-0.746

Saudi Arabia

3

3

-3.133