Nepal suffered a heavy defeat in its ACC U-19 Asia Cup opener on Saturday as it went down against Pakistan by 132 runs at the ICC Academy Stadium in Dubai, UAE.
Set a challenging target of 312 runs, Nepal could manage only 179 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
Nepali batsmen had a difficult time dealing with a potent Pakistani bowling attack after Nepali bowlers had failed to contain the run-flow of Pakistan, whose openers laid the foundation for a big total.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Pakistan made a flying start as opening batsman and skipper Sami Aslam, along with Hasan Raza, racked up 166 runs for the second wicket. Both Aslam and Raza completed centuries before Zafar Gohar hit a quick-fire 50 off 26 later in the innings to help his side post a formidable total.
Skipper Aslam smashed a run-a-ball 108 with four sixes and six fours, while the hard-hitting Raza scored 100 off 118 balls, smacking seven sixes and a four.
Nepali bowlers, who were drubbed by the rugged Pakistani batting line-up, found a crucial breakthrough only in the 37th over with the dismissal of Aslam, after another opener Mohammad Umair had departed in the fifth over scoring only 10 runs.
The arrival of Raza only rubbed salt into the wounds of Nepali bowlers as his fiery knock put Pakistan in a commanding position, with 263 runs on the board, before his departure in the 42nd over. Lalit Bhandari and Ramnaresh Giri claimed two wickets each for Nepal while Yagyaman Kumal picked up one wicket.
In reply, Nepal made a decent start as Sunil Dhamala and Amit Shrestha shared a 76-run opening partnership. Dhamala contributed 39 runs while Shrestha topscored with 60 off 107 that included six boundaries.
However, Nepal failed to recover from the loss of its openers as it lost wickets at regular intervals, with Raju Rijal returning to the pavilion without opening his score and Prem Tamang and Susan Bhari adding only one run each. Bibhastu Thapa and skipper Arif Sheikh, who contributed 22 and 25 runs respectively, tried to reinstate some pride in the Nepali side by playing with patience but it was too little too late for Nepal. Bhuvan Karki contributed 19 runs.