KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 2

Nepal suffered a comprehensive defeat of 132 runs against India in the last fixture of the super-six match during the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup held at Mangaung Oval Cricket Ground in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on Friday.

After winning the toss, India opted to bat first before posting a massive total of 298/5 in their allotted 50 overs.

Indian batters Sachin Dhas and skipper Uday Saharan scored 116 and 100 runs, respectively, against the Himalayan nation. Nepal's medium pacer Gulshan Jha took three scalps while Aakash Chand chipped in with a wicket.

In reply, Nepal's openers gave a solid start and shared 48 runs for the opening partnership in pursuit of their first victory of the super-six match. Opener Deepak Bohara scored 22 runs while Arjun Kumal scored 26 off 64 balls with three boundaries.

Nepal's run chase fell apart after losing six wickets for 12 runs within five overs. At one stage, Nepal was cruising at 65/2 in 22 overs, but in the next five overs, they were teetering at 77/7, as Nepal's middle-order batsmen failed to capitalize on the start given by the openers.

Nepal's skipper, Dev Khanal, who looked solid in the middle, tried to anchor the innings, but wickets kept falling from the other end. He chopped the ball onto his stumps while trying to run down to the third man area for a single.

Khanal top-scored for Nepal with a fluent 33 off 53 balls with two fours.

Durgesh Gupta and Aakash Chand shared a 45-run partnership for the last wicket to reach a respectable total of 165/9 in 50 overs. Durgesh Gupta and Aakash Chand remained not out on 29 and 18, respectively.

With this loss, Nepal has failed to win a single match in the super-six of the ongoing ICC event.

During the post-match conference, Dev Khanal, skipper of Nepal, said, 'Obviously, it's disappointing to lose a match. We are proud to be in the super-six after beating a team like Afghanistan. There are many positives to take from it; it's been a great learning experience for us. We are disappointed as our batters didn't play up to their expectations. I got the start in games, but I am utterly disappointed not to convert it into big ones.'