Kathmandu, August 29

Nepal went down to Afghanistan by 10 wickets in the second match of the ACC U-19 Premier at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur today.

Batting first after winning the toss, Nepal were bowled out for 123 runs in 47.5 overs before Afghanistan openers took the team home without loss in just 25 overs.

Nepal made a horrible start when Sandeep Sunar was bowled by Naveen-ul-Haq for  naught in the first ball of the second over and Nepal lost two more wickets -- Rajbir Singh (naught) and Aarif Sheikh (two) in quick succession to become 3-4 inside four overs.

Skipper Raju Rijal, who top scored for Nepal with 62 in Nepal’s 149-run victory over UAE on Friday, played painstaking 22--ball knock before falling for one run. Opener Sunil Dhamala and Yogendra Singh Karki then added 58 runs for the fifth wicket before both the batsmen fell at the same score to leave Nepal reeling at 81-6 in 30 overs. Dhamala scored 46 off 86 balls hitting five fours, while Karki was run out for 20 off 61.

Dipendra Singh Airee struck two fours in his 13-ball 10, while Prem Tamang scored 20 off 35 balls hitting two boundaries. Zia-ur-Rehman (3-18) and Parwez Malakzai (3-9) shared six wickets between them.

In reply, Afghanistan openers Hazratullah and Nasir Khan chased down the target with ease as they raced to 127-0 in 25 overs. Hazratullah struck six boundaries and three sixes in his 71-ball 68 not out, while Khan remained unbeaten on 57 off 79 balls that included seven boundaries. Nepal skipper Rijal used six bowlers but none of them could make the breakthrough. Nepal will now play against the hosts Malaysia on Monday.

In other matches, Malaysia defeated Kuwait by eight wickets, while UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 165 runs. Batting first, Kuwait were all out for 150 runs in 49.3 overs before Malaysia reached 154-2 in 37 overs. Likewise, UAE were bowled out for 258 in 50 overs and packed Saudi Arabia for 93 runs in 23.3 overs. With two wins in two matches, Afghanistan are at the top of the table on better run rate, while Malaysia are second. Nepal and UAE have two points each, while Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are yet to open their accounts.