Fielding first after losing the toss, Nepal restricted Maldives to a lowly 53 runs in 18.5 overs before chasing the total for the loss of three wickets in 14.2 overs here at the Yeonhui Cricket ground.

 Shafraz Jaleel (12) and Muawiyath Ghanee (11) were the only Maldivian batsmen to score in double figure against a tight Nepali bowling. Bhuwan Karki, Shakti Gauchan and Sagar Pun claimed two wickets each while Sompal Kami and Basanta Regmi took one apiece for Nepal.

Nepal made a poor chase losing Pun (1) and vice-captain Gyenendra Malla (1) early on but Subash Khakurel ensured the victory with his unbeaten 27-run knock. Khakurel hit one six and a four in his 39 ball innings. Skipper Paras Khadka also chipped in 18-ball 15 before giving away his wicket to Ahmed Hassan in the 11th over.

The second successive win meant Nepal will play Afghanistan in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. They had beaten Kuwait by nine wickets the previous day. Asked about the Nepal’s chances to grab first ever team event medal, skipper Khadka said it would be to early to look for a medal. “It would be premature to hope for medal now. We have to win every game first and then see where we land,” added Khadka.

The victory was third against Maldives in the Twenty20 format after defeating the opponents by 75 runs in 2010 Asian Games and by 76 runs during the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2013. “The pitch was not easy to bat on but our bowlers did tremendous job in restricting Maldives,” said the Nepali skipper.

The victory comes as a welcome relief amid continuous poor performances from the Nepali players in other disciplines. Although already eliminated, only wushuka Jharna Gurung, boxer Puran Rai and archer Jit Bahadur Rai have been able to embrace win so far. Women cricketers also tasted a victory but failed to get past group stages.

Meanwhile, Nepal lost the preliminary round table tennis team event 3-1 to Kuwait. Only Ajay Suwal was able to beat the Kuwati opponent Alansari Basel 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8. Nepal also lost the team TT event 3-0 against Malaysia after Rabina Maharjan, Rita Maiya Prajapati and Nabita Shrestha all lost their games in straight sets.

In athletics, Hari Kumar Rimal finished eighth in the men’s 1,500m heats with the timing of 4:9.88. Rimal was second last with Ahamed Hassan of Maldives finishing at the bottom. Pugilist Saraswoti Rana Magar, who was a bout away from claiming the first medal, lost to Jani Park of South Korea in the women’s 60kg weight division. Rana Magar is the undisputed national champion in her weight category for the last five years.

Bikram Pariyar competing in 46-49kg weight category, was ousted by Mohammad Faud of Malaysia on the basis of points. Pariyar who had gone as far as the third round had put on a decent performance in the second round.

The mediocre performance of the golfers continued with  Tanka Bahadur Karki leading the pack at 46th spot after the completion of the fourth round followed by Dinesh Prajapati in the 52nd, Bishnu Sharma in the 57th and Tashi Tshering in the 60th position. In the team event the Nepal golfers ended up 14th among the 19 teams.