The Nepal-Malaysia match ended in a draw after rainfall wreaked havoc while Nepali allrounder Raju Basnyat received man of the match award.
Day III:Three Innings, No Result
Brief Score: Nepal: 231/9d & 126/5d
Malaysia: 125/8d & 61/3
The three-day match of the ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament ended in a draw with Nepal acquiring 12.5 points – 2 more than hosts Malaysia.
Raju Basnyat, who was playing his first three-day match, bagged the man of the match trophy. He had scored 65 and 22 in two innings.
On the last day, Nepal put forward a target of 233 runs off 37 overs for Malaysia who only managed 61/3. Leg spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan claimed all three wickets to add to his first innings tally of three wickets.
Earlier, Nepal declared its second innings at 126/5 at tea. Opener Mehboob Alam topscored with 39 that included 7 forus and a six. Mehboob added 53 with fellow opener Paresh Lohani (14).
Dipendra Chaudhary (31) and Sarad Veswakr (8) were unbeaten.
Before that, Malaysia ended their second innings at 125/8. They lost 3 wickets, one run out and one each to Raj Kumar and Sanjam Regmi, adding mere 15 runs to their overnight total of 110/5.
Day II: Malaysia Answers Well
Host Malaysia have made 110 runs losing five wickets in their first innings as the rainfall curtailed the second day of the three-day match of the ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament between Malaysia and Nepal here at the Selangor Turf Ground today.
At stumps, Malaysian captain Suresh Navaratnam was unbeaten on 25 while leg-spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan and off-spinner Sanjam Regmi each took two wickets. The play was stopped for about three-and-half hours due to rainfall and only 57 overs were possible.
Nepali bowlers failed to claim any wicket on the first session of the play that lasted for 75 minutes. Malaysia resumed the innings from 35/1 and were 52/1 when the rainfall stopped the match.
Suresh Singh nicked a Raj Kumar delivery to wicket-keeper Manoj Katuwal in the second over after the rain stopped. Opener Rohan Selvaratnam ran himself out while trying for a second run as substitute fielder Kaniska Chaugai did a praiseworthy job.
Raj Kumar got his second when Izrafique was caught by Sanjam, who added one more wicket to his overnight’s one during the end of the day. Sri Lankan born Sarath Jayawardene gave an easy catch to Binod Das after scoring 29 runs with three fours.
“We will be looking to bowl them out as soon as possible on the last day and try to go for outright win,†Nepal’s vice-captain Binod told NepalCricket.com. At the end of second day, Nepal have 7 points while Malaysia have 6.5.
Day I: Raju, Sanjam Recue Nepal
Brief score: Nepal first innings 231/9d (Raju Basnyat 64*, Sarath Jayawardene 4/43), Singapore 35/1
Raju Basnyat, who was left out in the match against Singapore, made a strong comeback with a patient 64 not out that helped Nepal reach a respectable total on the first day of the three-day ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament match against Malaysia at Selangor Turf in Kuala Lumpur.
Raju partnered with fello spinner Sanjam Regmi for 93-run ninth wicket partnership to revive Nepal’s hope who at a time were struggling at 138/8. Sanjam, who scored 21 off 103 deliveries, fell in the 87th over prompting Nepali captain Raju Khadka to declare ar 231/9.Raju hit a six and 8 boundaries in his knock and brought up his half-century with a boundary at long on.
At stumps, Malaysia were 35/1 losing opener Rakesh Madhavan for 31. Rakesh, who scored 48 and 60 in two innings against UAE in the last week’s ICC InterContinental tie, fell to Sanjam. He hit five boundaries in his 41-ball knock before nicking one to wicket-keeper Manoj Katuwal.
Earlier in the morning, Malaysian captain Suresh Navaratnam won the toss and invited the visiting team to bat. Paresh Lohani and Mehboob Alam gave an average start adding 36 runs. But once they were back, the middle order failed. Only No 3 Sarad Veswakar did some good scoring 29 off56 balls while captain Raju got 23.
Shakti Gauchan, Dipendra Chaudhary, Manoj Katuwal and Binod Das combined contribution to the team’s total was 17 runs – 11 scored alone by Manoj. Nepal also took advantage of some erratic bowling of the home team who gave away 32 extra runs.