A century stand for the fifth wicket between Yogendra Karki and skipper Raju Rijal spurred Nepal U-19 to a 37-run win over Vijay Dahiya Cricket Club (VDCC) in their preparation tour of New Delhi on Wednesday.

Electing to bat first, Nepal made 239 all out in 48.4 overs with both Karki and Rijal making half centuries. VDCC were 202 all out in 48.2 overs with five of their batsmen falling victim to run outs.

Nepal were struggling at 69-4 after losing opener Sunil Dhamala (19), Aashish Dhami (18), Sandeep Sunar (four) and Shankar Rana (naught) inside the first 15 overs. Karki and Rijal then staged a remarkable comeback with a 106-run partnership that guiding team to a respectable total.

Rijal top scored for the visitors with 82-ball 66, while Karki made 80-ball 62. Both the batsmen hit nine boundaries apiece. Rajbir Singh (22 not out) and Aarif Sheikh (14) pushed Nepal close to 250-mark. Hemank picked up 3-24 from six overs for the local side.

VDCC had an identical start when they lost their first four wickets for just 49 runs. Jalaj and Vipin Khareda shared 79-run partnership for the fifth wicket to keep the hosts into the game. After Khareda’s dismissal, Jalaj went on to share another 52-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Amit Poonia (17) but once the latter was run out, VDCC innings began to crumble.

Jalaj was the lone fighter for VDCC making a patient 102-ball 84 that included six boundaries and a maximum. Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel picked up two wickets for Nepal, while Dipendra Airee claimed the prized wicket of Jalaj.

Nepal, who are preparing for October 15-22 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Malaysia, had opened the tour with a six-wicket victory over the same side. Nepal now take on the LB Shastri Cricket Club on October 3.