A strong middle order display guided Nepal U-19 to their fourth victory in the practice tour of India defeating hosts Andhra Pradesh U-19 by five wickets in India on Thursday.

Two days after beating the same side by nine runs in the fourth practice game, Nepal restricted Andhra Pradesh to 220-9 in 50 overs. Nepal went through an early wobble before Aasif Sheikh, Ravi Sah, skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel and Bhim Sharki stuck to the crease leading the team to 221-5 in 48.2 overs.

Nepal had a disastrous start losing Avishek Basnet (seven) and Pawan Sarraf (three) with just 12 runs on the board. Sheikh held the innings with Sah and forged an 83-run stand for the third wicket as Nepal approached triple figures. Sah made a 74-ball 37 with three runs on the board. After Sah’s departure, Sheikh shared 43 runs for the fourth wicket with Paudel and notched up a half century after a long time. He scored 65 off 97 deliveries with four boundaries and a six. Any hopes of a comeback for the local team was quashed by the pair of Paudel and Sharki, who put on 65 runs for the fifth wicket taking Nepal close to the finishing line.

Paudel’s 51-ball 45 included three fours and a six. Sharki, who hit three boundaries and two maximum, remained unbeaten on 45 off 33 while sealing the chase with Kushal Malla (six not out). MK Reddy, B Santosh, I Ismial, SMD Kamil and Nitesh Kumar took a wicket each for Andhra Pradesh.

Earlier, Nepali spinners controlled the game by not allowing Andhra Pradesh batsmen to build a big total although they got starts. Ravi Kiran and P Subramanyam brought their biggest partnership—77 runs—of the day for the third wicket before the spinners tightened the screws. Kiran scored 45 off 87 with four boundaries and Subramanyam contributed 38 off 65 with four hits to the fence. Dharani Kumar chipped in 37 from 39 in an innings including four boundaries. Surya Tamang and Pawan Sarraf took two wickets each for Andhra Pradesh.

Nepal will play against the same team in the sixth and final practice match on Saturday. Nepal are currently in India to fine tune their preparations for the upcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier to be held in Malaysia from April 10. They will play alongside Kuwait, Oman, Singapore and Malaysia for the only available spot for the 2019 ICC U-19 World Cup in South Africa.