Nepal lost to Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the ACC U19 Asia Cup held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Sri Lanka bowled out Nepal for 178 runs while the latter was chasing the 234-run target.
To restrict Nepal to paltry 178 runs, Praveen Maneesha claimed the highest 3 wickets giving away 33 runs while Newton Ranjithkumar, Kugadas Mathulan and Vihas Thewmika with grabbed 2 wickets each. Similarly, Viran Chamuditha took 1 wicket for Sri Lanka.
Despite Mayan Yadav's 62-run haul, Nepal could not reach the target as the other batsmen were dismissed cheaply. Yadav hit 3 fours and one 2 sixes off 91 deliveries. Similarly, Aakash Tripathi made 19 runs, while Uttam Magar and Naren Saud contributed 17 runs and 16 runs. The other batsmen could not achieve significant runs.
Earlier, invited to bat first after losing the toss at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE on Friday, Sri Lanka notched up 233 runs losing all wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
Sharujan Shanmuganathan topped the score with 62 runs including 2 fours off 99 deliveries followed by Lakvin Abeysinghe with 50 runs while Kavija Gamage made 37 runs. Similary, Vimath Dinsara and Dulnith Sigera contributed 24 runs each.
In reply, Santosh Yadav took the highest 4 wickets followed by Yuvraj Khatri with 2 wickets while Naren Saud and Hemant Dhami grabbed 1 wicket each for Nepal.
Nepal U-19 team had qualified for Asia Cup after remaining top three in the ACC Premier Cup held in Malaysia last year.
Nepal is in Group B alongside Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Similarly, India, Pakistan, Japan and host UAE are in Group A. In the inaugural match to be held today itself, Afghanistan is taking on Bangladesh from Group A.
Likewise, Nepal will play the second group stage match with Bangladesh on Sunday and the final group stage match with Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Top two teams from each group will book berth in the semi-finals. The final match will be held on December 8.
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