Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, April 19:

Nepal crushed Bahrain by 10 wickets and advanced to the semi-finals of the Under-15 Asia Cup cricket tournament, in UAE today. Nepal will play the UAE in Wednesday’s semi-finals.

Nepal skipper Sashi Keshari, who won the toss and decided to field first, was backed by his bowlers restricting Bahrain for 103 runs in 39.4 overs. Nepal struck early when Chandra Saud dismissed opener J Danish (1) and K Karan (4). Amrit Bhattarai claimed the other opener D Reddy (4), leaving Bahrain reeling at 15/3. L Suresh put some fight scoring 19 runs, but Angel

Acharya dismissed him. Bahrain came under further pressure when Keshari trapped M Samad

lbw and Sharad Pokhrel dismissed top-scorer M David, who hit three fours in his 74-ball 31. B Patil scored 15 off 69 balls, while R Gavin made 15 for Bahrain. For Nepal, Chandra Saud, Sashi Keshari and vice captain Gyanendra Malla took two wickets each. In reply, Nepal overcame the target without losing wicket in 13.4 overs. Opener Dipen Shrestha scored 33 off 31 balls including four fours, while Anil Mandal hit six boundaries in his 51-ball 53.