Batting first after winning the toss, Nepal team posted 259/9 in the allotted 50 overs. [break]
Nepal´s vice-captain Karn ripped through Bahrain´s batting line-up taking four wickets in his second over, including a hat-trick in the last three balls. Karn finished with eight wickets, without needing any assistance from fielders. Four of his wickets were bowled, while other four were trapped lbw.
Karn became the first Nepali bowler to complete a hat-trick in age group tournament at the international level. He also became the second Nepali bowler to take a hat-trick at the international level. Earlier, Shakti Gauchan had taken a hat-trick against Denmark in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers held in the UAE last year.
Karn trapped Ikram Nadeem lbw as his first wicket in the second ball of the third over of the innings. He gave away a run in the third ball and then completed a hat-trick in the last three balls of the over. He trapped Adeel Nasir lbw in the fourth ball, bowled Jayan Anandhakrishnan and again trapped Ubaid Minhas lbw to complete his hat-trick.
Karn´s bowling figure of 8-2-24-8 is the second best bowling figure among Nepali bowlers in the U-19 age group. Rahul Vishwakarma´s bowling figure of 6.5-0-15-8 against Thailand in the last edition of ACC U-19 Elite Cup is the best bowling figure among Nepali bowlers in the age group.
Karn was adjudged the man of the match for his brilliant bowling performance.
Five Bahrain batsmen returned to the pavilion without scoring, while only two reached double figures. Akshay Krishna (22) was the highest scorer for Bahrain, while Lasith Lal made 17. Captain Bhuwan Karki and Rahul Pratap Singh claimed a wicket each for Nepal.
Earlier, Nepali innings had not started well as it lost its first wicket on 28 runs. Captain Bhuwan Karki was the highest scorer for Nepal with 83 off 63 balls, which included eight fours and three sixes. Bibhatsu Thapa scored 44, while Nirmal Thapa added 25.
Openers Ameet Shrestha (22 runs off 12 balls) and Nischal Pandey (16 runs off 40 balls) were the other major contributors for Nepal. Bahrain bowled 32 extras. Lalith Lal was the pick of the Bahrain bowlers with three wickets while Anandhakrishnan and Adeel Nasir claimed two wickets each.
Nepal´s run rate surged to more than five an over, thanks to some quick scoring toward the end. Nepali batsmen scored more than 50 runs in the last five overs.
Following its 84-run victory over Kuwait and nine-wicket win over Qatar in the first two matches, the convincing victory over Bahrain has secured a semifinal berth for Nepal from Group B of the tournament. In the group of five teams, Nepal and Malaysia have equal six points from three matches. However, Nepal is on top of the table with better net run rate. Kuwait is in the third place with two points from three matches. Bahrain and Qatar are yet to open their accounts.
Nepal and Malaysia will lock horns on Wednesday to decide the group winner.
Related story
Nepal proposes updating MoU on labour issue with Bahrain
