Kathmandu, October 15

Nepal U-19 team began the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier campaign with a nine-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea in the opening match at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Nepal skipper Raju Rijal invited the PNG to take the first strike and bowled them out for a paltry 48 runs in 28.2 overs.

In reply, Nepal raced to 50-1 in 9.1 overs.

PNG batsmen were not comfortable playing against Nepali seamers and they were reduced to 10-6 in 10 overs. Lohia Guba and Nou Toua added 25 runs for the 10th wicket, which was their highest partnership.

Guba scored 13 off 27 balls with two sixes, while Toua remained unbeaten on 11 off 31 that included a six. Sunil Dhamala was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 5-15 in 10 overs, while Arif Sheikh grabbed 3-7 in 8.2 overs and Sushil Kandel took a wicket.

Chasing a low target, Nepal lost opener Sandeep Sunar (four) with just 12 runs on board in the third over. After his five-wicket haul, Sunil Dhamala returned to share a 38-run partnership for the unbroken second wicket with Yogendra Singh Karki.

Dhamala remained unbeaten on 24 off 35 balls, while Karki scored 16 off 15 balls hitting two fours. Jack Dairi was the lone successful bowler for PNG as he grabbed the wicket of Sunar.

Nepal will take on Uganda on Friday at the Royal Selangor Club. A total of five countries are taking part in the qualifiers with the winners earning the berth for next year’s ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup to be held in Bangladesh.

In another match, the USA defeated Uganda by six wickets. Batting first, Uganda were all out for 167 in 45.2 overs, while the USA raced 168-4 in 40.2 overs.