Kathmandu, May 13

Host Malaysia clinched the title of the ACC U-16 Elite Cup on Sunday defeating Nepal by one wicket in a nail biting final at the Kinrara Oval cricket ground, Malaysia.

Electing to bat first, Nepal posted 117-run losing all wickets in the 33.3 overs in 40 overs match. The half century from opener Virandeep Singh guided Malaysia safely to the victory disappointing the valiant efforts of Nepali bowlers.

Singh had his patient with the batting to score not out 54 runs off 119 balls as the host achieved the victory target in 39 overs for the loss of eight wickets. Singh fired seven boundaries in his innings.

Vinay Singh made 22-run for Malaysia whereas Shaker Satish (12 off 11 balls) were other batsman to endure the Nepali bowlers to score the double figure. Malaysians were gifted 19 runs from extras.

Nepali bowlers pulled the match to the last overs as Akash Bista and Kalicharan Yadav grabbed two wickets each while Jagdish Chand, Skipper Dipendra Chand and Sashi Mishara also dismissed one batsman each to make the final thrilling.

Earlier, visitor Nepali bats men could not succeed to post enough runs against Malaysia in the
final clash. Instead, Malaysia took the sweet revenge of their one wicket defeat from Nepal in the Group stage.

Nepal’s performance with the bat let them down in the final as they struggled standing against the disciplined bowling attack of the opponent bowlers. Akash Bista was the highest scorer for the Nepali team who struck 35 runs off 52 balls.

Shankar Goonasagaran had three wickets haul while Pravandeep Singh, Sharvin Muniandy and Shankar Satish each claimed two batsmen to restrict Nepal from collecting challenging total.

Dipendra Chand and Nurdhoj Sen collaborated for 24 runs for the opening partnership but former was bowled out to the hand of Singh after scoring 21 off 21 balls with three boundaries. Sen was trapped lbw off Shankar after scoring 19 runs off 40 balls. The other batsman to contribute with double digit was Sashi Mishra who scored 14 runs off 17 balls before being run out by Singh.

This is the second time in succession that Nepal had finished second in the competition. In the earlier, edition of the tournament in Kathmandu on 2010, Nepal was defeated by Singapore in the final.