Kathmandu, April 18

Nepal defeated Kuwait by eight wickets to finish second in the ICC U-19 World Cup Asia Qualifier in Kuala Lumpur today.

Batting first at the Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuwait were bowled out for 157 runs in 49.2 overs before Nepal raced to 160-2 in 28 overs. Nepal finished second in the table with eight points with four wins, while the United Arab Emirates earned the youth World Cup berth with five victories in the six-team competition. Nepal had faced a one-run defeat under D-L method after posting 247 runs.

Openers Rit Gautam and Pawan Sarraf scored half centuries to ease Nepal’s chase against Kuwait. They put 93 runs in 19.2 overs before Sarraf was dismissed for 53 off 61 balls that included eight fours and a six.

Man-of-the-match Gautam then added 47 runs for the second wicket with Aasif Sheikh. Gautam struck seven boundaries in his 84-ball 62. Sheikh and Sandeep Jora took the team home without further loss. Sheikh remained unbeaten on 33 off 20 balls that included five boundaries and a six, while Jora struck a four in his three-ball five not out.

Earlier, Noman Budroo top scored for Kuwait with 70 off 120 balls hitting eight boundaries, while Gokul Kumar scored 36 off 66 balls that included five fours. Hamoud Qureshi (17) and opener Meet Bhavsar (10) were the other batsmen who scored in double figures.

Earlier, Nepal skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel was the pick of the bowlers taking 3-13 from three overs. Rashid Khan (2-16), Surya Tamang (2-27) and Kushal Malla (2-21) shared six wickets among them.