Nepal retained the ACC U-16 Eastern Region title with a 59-run win over Malaysia in the final at the Prem Tinsulanonda International School grounds in Chiangmai, Thailand, on Sunday.

Electing to bat first, Nepal scored 140-9 in 35 overs before restricting Malaysia for 81 in 34.5 overs. Nepal had won the inaugural edition defeating Singapore by 71 runs at the Terdthai cricket grounds in Bangkok in December 2017. Coincidently the current skipper Bishal Bikram KC had led the team in that final as the-then regular captain Rit Gautam had to sit out of the match due to injury.

Nepal had No 4 batsman Prashant Mahat to thank for posting what initially appeared to be a below par total. As wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Mahat kept his cool to score 40 runs. More importantly, his patient knock helped his team post a total that ultimately turned more than enough. Mahat struck five boundaries in his 67-ball innings.

Opener Deepak Bohara, who played a crucial role later on with the ball, also scored invaluable 23 off 19 balls including two fours and a six. Skipper KC chipped in 17 and Nikhil Kumar Singh 13 to the Nepali total. Seven other batsmen failed to reach double figures largely due to a disciplined Malaysian bowling effort. Sachinu Hettige, who was named the best bowler of the tournament, led the Malaysian taking 3-14 off seven overs while Jinendra Muraly claimed 2-31 from his quota of seven overs. Ahmed Akmal Alif, Muhammad Amirul Asraf, Sidharth Karthik and Sharveen Surendran also bagged a wicket each for Malaysia.

Man-of-the-final Bohara and Bishal Kumar Patel claimed a combined seven wickets to virtually seal Nepal’s victory. Malaysia were tottering at 42-7 by the 22nd over and only a dogged fightback from tailenders pushed the match until the last over. But the result was never in doubt.

No 8 batsman Aiman top-scored for Malaysia with 18 while opener Wan Muhammad Azam (16) and No 9 batsman Jinendra Muraly (14) chipped in runs to make the total a bit respectful. Patel was pick of the Nepali bowers with figures of 4-18 while Bohara took 3-16 from seven overs. Nikhil Kumar Singh and Krish Karki also claimed one wicket each.

Nepal skipper KC was adjudged the player-of-the-tournament while Girin Rahul Gune of Singapore was named best batsman of the tournament. Like the previous edition Nepal finished the tournament, a development programme of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), without losing a single match. Prior to the U16 Eastern Region which started in 2017, Nepal had also won the ACC U-16 title but with separate name: the ACC U-16 Premier.

In Chiangmai, Nepal opened the tournament with a seven-wicket win over Myanmar, beat Malaysia by 39 runs before sharing a point with hosts Thailand in the last Group ‘A’ match the very next day. Against Thailand Nepal had posted 234-7 but rain and thunderstorm forced the match to be abandoned with just 1.5 overs into the Thailand innings. Nepal still finished as the pool winners and played Hong Kong in the semi-finals on Saturday, which they won by four wickets.

Summary

Nepal 140-9 in 35 overs (P Mahat 40, D Bohara; S Hattige 3-14, J Muraly) beat Malaysia 81 all out in 34.5 overs (M Aiman 18, W Azam 16; BK Patel 4-18, D Bohara 3-16) by 59 runs Player-of-the-match: Deepak Bohara (NEP)Player-of-the-tournamet: Bishal Bikram KC (NEP)Best Bowler: Sachinu Hettige (MAL)Best Batter: Girin Rahul Gune (SIN)