Kathmandu, June 24

Nepal brush aside their opening match loss to Pakistan by trouncing Malaysia by 107 runs in their second match of the U-19 Asia Cup underway in Malaysia on Sunday.

To keep their semifinal hope alive, Nepal opting to bat first hammered the mammoth 257-run total conceding eight wickets in the allocated 50 overs match.

In reply, host Malaysia were bundled out in 43 overs scoring 140 runs thanks to five wickets haul off Rahul Vishvakarma.

Vishvakarmam, who was judged man of the match, conceded 30 runs with one maiden over in his eight overs’ spell.

Avinash Karna and Captain Baskota also contributed with two wickets while Sagar Pun also picked one wicket to complete his all round performance. Karn conceded 31 runs with one maiden over in his seven overs spell while Baskota was the most economic for Nepal who conceded just six runs and bowled one maiden over 18-balls spell.

Middle order batsman Muhamad Syahadat topped the score for the host with 36 runs off 70 balls while SKG Krishnan (23) and P Nadaesan (21) were other major contributors.

Earlier, Nepal, whose batting were helpless against Test playing nation Pakistan, came with a strong performance against Malaysia.

Nepal weathered the midway crisis of 4-90 in 23.6 overs to bounce back with brilliant performance from Sagar Pun.

Making a good start, opener duo partnered for 74 runs before Pradeep Airee (39) fell out in 15.5 overs and Nepal dealt another blow as Subash Khakurel (33) also returned to the pavilion two balls after the first wicket.

Nepal then lost another two quick wickets in the 24th overs. Naresh Budayair (4) was stumped by Zubair Norazmi off Krishnan in 23.3 overs and Captain Baskota also fell prey to the ball off Krishnan as former was caught for duck by Fikri Rosdi in 23.6 overs.

But it was Pun, whose inspiring batting, kept Nepal afloat in the match. Pun, who came for the second wicket, hammered 71 runs off 90 balls that include four boundaries and three sixes.

Pun collaborated with Rajesh Pulami for 84-run knock for the fifth wicket. Pulami chipped in 39 runs facing 45 overs which included three boundaries. Tail-enders Hasim Ansari (21 off 23 balls) and Bhuwan Karki (23 off 15 balls) also made significant contribution for Nepal’s first win.

With the victory, Nepal earned three points similar to India to which Nepal faces on Thursday. Pakistan is the top side with six points from two victories.

After the victory, skipper Prithu Baskota said that Sagar and Rajesh tightened the grip for Nepal. "Besides, the all-round performance and teamwork of Nepal were enough for the victory."

"It is good to score 257 where local clubs could not cross the average of 180 runs total," Prithu said.

Coach Pubudu Dasanayeke looked content after the win against Malaysia. "This victory has boosted Nepal’s self confidence." "We conceded some mistakes against Pakistan and lost, but this time we did not repeat the mistakes," Dasanayeke said.

"In order to beat India, Nepal need to score the huge total and we aim for that," he said.