KATHMANDU, Aug 31: Nepal made a winning start to the ACC Premier Cup cricket tournament, defeating Bahrain by seven wickets in Bangi, Malaysia, on Monday.
Chasing a modest target of 88 runs, Nepal reached the target in 21 overs, losing three wickets. Arjun Kumal top-scored for Nepal with an unbeaten 36 off 58 balls, including five fours. Rohit Kumar Paudel remained unbeaten on 19, while Asif Sheikh scored 18 and Dev Khanal added 10.
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For Bahrain, Imran Javed Anwar took three wickets.
Earlier, Bahrain, who were invited to bat first after losing the toss, were bowled out for 87 runs in 36.2 overs. Fiaz Ahmed was Bahrain's top scorer with 15 runs off 15 balls, while Muhammad Wasim contributed 13. No other Bahrain batter managed to reach double figures.
Sandeep Lamichhane was the pick of Nepal's bowlers, taking five wickets. Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi claimed three wickets, while Karan KC took two.
Nepal will play their second match against Malaysia on September 3.