Kathmandu: Nepal has clinched the title of ACC Men’s U-16 East Zone Cricket Cup. In the final match held at UKM Oval Cricket ground in Malaysia, Nepal defeated Singapore by two wickets, securing victory in a tightly contested match. Chasing a target of 114 runs set by Singapore, Nepal successfully reached the goal in 29 overs, albeit losing eight wickets along the way.
According to National News Agency Nepal, standout performances for Nepal included contributions from Joy Thapa and Abhay Yadav, who scored 24 runs, and Shiwansh Bajgai, who added 20 runs. Shubham Khanal and Prasiddha Joshi also played crucial roles, scoring 18 and 17 runs respectively, while Abhay managed to add 10 runs to the total. On the bowling front, Singapore’s Kapish Venkatraman was notable for taking four wickets, while Yuvaan Pandey claimed two, and Vedansh Gupta and Akash Teja took one each.
Earlier in the match, Singapore opted to bat first after winning the toss but was restricted to a total of 113 runs in 40.5 overs, losing all wickets. Rohan Austin was the top scorer for Singapore with 23 runs, followed by Riaan Naik with 15, Vedansh Gupta with 12, and Akash Teja with 10 runs. Other batters from Singapore struggled to reach double-digit scores.
Nepal’s bowling attack was led by Abhay Yadab and Sushil Bahadur Rawal, who each took three wickets. Shubham Khanal contributed by taking two wickets, while Captain Bipin Prasad Sharma added one wicket to his name. The win marks a significant achievement for Nepal in the regional cricketing event.