Nepal crashed out of the ACC U-19 Asia Cup after losing to defending champions India by six wickets in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Friday.

The second consecutive defeat for Nepal comes a day after they suffered a heartbreaking one-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their first Group ‘A’ match. Nepal remain at the third spot ahead of Malaysia with the two winless teams meeting each other on Sunday.

India and Sri Lanka have both entered the semi-finals with one match in hand. India lead the standings on net run-rate after they were tied on points with Sri Lanka, who hammered Malaysia by eight wickets in another Group ‘A’ game on Friday.

Electing to bat first, Nepal failed to make the most of a decent 36-run opening wicket partnership before a late surge from Rohit Kumar Paudel lifted the team to 172-9 in 50 overs. Skipper Sandeep Lamichhane got rid of India opener Prithiv Shaw in the second over but a strong Indian batting lineup eased to 174-4 in 33.3 overs.

Himanshu Rana and Shubman Gill forged an 86-run second wicket stand to throw Nepal virtually out of the contest. Gill top scored for India with a 63-ball 57 that included four boundaries and two sixes. Rana made 51 off 61 with five boundaries. Both batsmen fell to Pawan Sarraf. Sarraf also got rid of Abhishek Sharma (two) and reduced India to 131-4 but Priyam Garg and Salman Khan (19) guided their side safely home with a 43-run partnership. Garg made 42 off 36 with two sixes and a boundary.

Earlier, Nepali openers Aasif Sheikh and Sandeep Sunar (seven) began cautiously collecting 36 runs in the first 10 overs. But Nepal lost their first five wickets for 15 runs thanks largely to leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, who completed a five-wicket haul.

Chahar removed Sunar and Khan (naught) in a space of three balls and followed the dismissals with scalps of Sheikh and Bhim Sharki (duck) in his next two overs as Nepal were pushed to backfoot. Dipendra Airee, who almost won the match against Sri Lanka on Thursday, held the innings once again with a 35-run stand with Prakash KC (13).

Airee also added 21 runs with Paudel but his departure in the 36th over resumed Nepal’s collapse as they were reduced to 134-9 in 43 overs. Paudel pushed Nepal to a respectable total, collecting 38 runs for a 10th wicket unbroken stand with Nandan Yadav (0). Paudel hammered Kamlesh Nagarkoti for 24 runs in the final over smashing three fours and two sixes. He remained unbeaten on 68 off 93 balls with seven boundaries and two hits over the fence. Chahar finished with 5-27 from 10 overs.

In Group ‘B’ matches, Afghanistan stunned Pakistan by 21 runs and Bangladesh cruised past Singapore by seven wickets.

Summary

India 174-4 in 33.3 overs (S Gill 57, H Rana 51; P Sarraf 3-43, S Lamichhane 1-35) beat Nepal 172-9 in 50 overs (RK Paudel 68*, D Airee 34; R Chabar 5-27) by six wickets