Kathmandu, November 29

Nepal will take on hosts Sri Lanka in the opening match of the ACC U-19 Asia Cup to be in held Colombo and Matara from December 15-23.

Nepal — who are pitted in Group A along with two South Asian heavyweights India and Sri Lanka as well as Associate nation Malaysia in the 50-over competition — will open the campaign with a match against the hosts at the Colombo Cricket Club on December 15.

Nepal will play their second match against the defending champions India on December 16 before facing Malaysia two days later in their last match of the group stage.

Group B comprises of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Singapore. Top two teams after the league round will advance to the semi-finals slated for December 20 and 21. The final is scheduled for December 23.

Nepal have featured in both of the previous editions of the competition but are yet to make it to the knock out stage. In the first edition held in Malaysia in 2012, Nepal beat the host nation by 107 runs but faced an 81-run defeat against India and went down to Pakistan by eight wickets. India and Pakistan shared the trophy after both the teams were tied on 282 runs in the final.

Two years later, Nepal recorded an 80-run victory over hosts United Arab Emirates but suffered a nine-wicket defeat against India and faced a 132-run loss at the hands of Pakistan. India won the competition defeating Pakistan by 40 runs.