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Nepal starts Division 4 on winning note

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By No Author
KATHMANDU, Sept 3: Nepal started the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 4 on a winning note in Malaysia on Monday after Paras Khadka´s side beat Singapore by five wickets despite losing early wickets when chasing down low total of 112.



Man of the match Amrit Bhattarai was the key player in Nepal´s victory with his impressive left-arm pace taking first four wickets to push the opponents on the back foot as early as possible.[break]



His heroics gave Nepali spinners a foundation to crush Singaporean innings for 111 in 39.5 overs before Nepal overcame earlier tumble to reach the target with half of the overs and wickets remaining.



Singapore was 30/4 with all four wickets going to Amrit - three of them falling in same fashion, caught behind.



Binod Das made a return to the national team and bowled well but could not claim a wicket while captain Paras Khadka who bowled two overs of pace went for 12 runs and soon turned towards the spinners.



Left-arm orthodox Basant Regmi, Shakti Gauchan and off-spinner Sanjam Regmi claimed the remaining wickets to end the innings soon. Basant took three for 30, Sanjam 2 for 4 in 4 overs and Shakti 1 for 8 in 9 overs.



Some stubborn resistance by the last pair, who partnered 23 runs, took Singapore total to three-digit figure. A Param (31), Mulela Dharmichand (13), last pair Shoaib Razzak (10) and Amjad Mahboob (16) were run scorers for Singapore.



Nepal´s reply wasn´t great either with Anil Mandal going for a duck and Gyanendra Malla (12) departing soon after.



Captain Paras Khadka (5), Subash Khakurel (9) and Sharad Vesawkar (9) departed soon making it 47/5 and Nepal seemed to be in trouble chasing the low total.



However, Pradeep Airee scored 34 in 25 balls with 4 fours and a six while Shakti Gauchan played calmly scoring 18 in 56 balls with a couple of fours to take Nepal to victory.



Mahboob was on the pick of Singapore´s bowler with 3 wickets.



“Amrit (Bhattarai) got the ball rolling for us with his fine performance and we took advantage of the early wickets to unsettle the opponent. It was not one of the easiest wickets to bat on but the middle order guys kept their cool and went on to win the match for us,” said Khadka to ICC´s official website after the match.



Nepal´s coach Pubudu Dassanayake termed the victory a good start. "Every match is important for us and we want to prolong the winning streak in the tournament," said Dassanayake.



Nepal will play Tanzania on Tuesday.



USA, Denmark win respective matches



Meanwhile, the United States of America beat hosts Malaysia and Denmark defeated Tanzania on the opening day of the tournament in Kuala Lumpur.



Denmark got the better of Tanzania at the Kinrara Academy Oval ground, after opting to bat first. Carsten Pedersen (48) was the highest scorer for Denmark in its total of 224. Chasing the big total, Tanzania lost wickets at regular intervals and it made just 136 for seven off 50 overs.



At the Bayuemas Oval, the US posted 289 for five in its 50 overs. Sushil Nadkarni (73), Timroy Allen (73) and Steven Taylor (62) were the top scorers for the USA. In reply, Malaysia lost wickets at regular intervals. Only Suharril Fetri (60) managed to add a good amount of runs to the total but his efforts were in vain with Malaysia finally ending at 219 for eight wickets in 50 overs.



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