Nepal had a chance to finish as winners going into their final league game against Associate archrivals Afghanistan. But a 108-run defeat to the Afghans in a rain-interrupted match denied them the title, leaving them in third place behind the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who finished runners-up on better net run rate.

Nepal kicked off the campaign in style with a five-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates, the 2015 World Cup finalists. They then got the measure of another ODI team Hong Kong by seven wickets and hosts Malaysia by five wickets before a shock two-wicket loss to Oman.

Skipper Paras Khadka said the tournament was important in several aspects. “It was a tournament where everyone in the team performed his bit. There was not a single game where you could remember any individual performance. We played as a unit and hopefully we carry on that momentum,” Khadka told reporters on the team’s arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Nepal now have to look forward to cashing in on the young talents that impressed in Malaysia, the captain added. “The young players coming in have shown really good sign for the future. They have proved that they can perform at a higher level provided they get the opportunities,” said Khadka. “Afghanistan came into the tournament resting their experienced players and their youngsters delivered for them. They are grooming young talents under good facilities abroad. We have such players who have already exhibited their talents at a higher level. If we want to see Nepali cricket to measure newer hights, we’ve got to involve our youngsters into several programmes,” added Khadka.

According to him, the players had put the domestic issues off their minds and were all focused on putting in a good show in Malaysia. The team mood was all gloom when they headed for the competition following a poor handling of coach Pubudu Dassanayake’s contract and team preparations by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). But the team had another mood swing in Malayia, only for the better.

“We are always happy when we get to play cricket. We left all those baggage at home and made it a point that didn’t reflect on our games. And we’re glad we performed well although we fumbled in the final game to miss out on the trophy,” he concluded.