Kathmandu, February 28

Nepal outplayed Malaysia by 10 wickets to record their fourth straight victory in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifier at the Malek Cricket Ground in Ajman, United Arab Emirates today.

Dipesh Kandel and Akash Chand took seven wickets as Nepal bowl Malaysia out for a paltry 72 runs in 35.3 overs.

Nepal openers Deepak Bohara and Arjun Kumal then took the team home without loss in just nine overs.

With four wins in as many matches, Nepal and hosts UAE are tied at the top of the table with eight points. They will face each other in the last league round match on Thursday and the winners will earn berth in the U-19 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka next year. Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong have two points each, while Kuwait are yet to open their accounts.

Chasing a low total, Nepal openers Bohara and Kumal raced to 73-0 to seal their fourth consecutive victory.

Bohara remained unbeaten on 38 off 29 balls with the help of eight boundaries, while Kumal hit three fours in his 25-ball 21 not out.

Earlier, Nepali bowlers wrecked havoc as Malaysia batters failed to build partnerships and lost wickets at regular intervals. Only three batters were able to score in double figures. Muhammad Akram Abd Malek top scored with 26 off 51 balls that included three boundaries, while Mohammed Hairil Harisan and Muhammad Syahir Syamael Shazari contributed 12 runs each.

Kandel was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 4-11 from 10 overs, and he was ably supported by Chand (3- 9) and Milan Bohara (2-8).

Subash Bhandari also grabbed a wicket. Kandel was named the player of the match.

In their previous matches, Nepal defeated Hong Kong by nine wickets, thrashed Singapore by 96 runs and outplayed Kuwait by 243 runs.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 1, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.