As the action intensified in Kuala Lumpur, day three of Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 saw Nepal record a 190-run victory over Singapore. On a big-hitting day, Nepal scored 263 for nine and then dismissed Singapore for 73.
In the showcase match of the day, a knock of 114 by 24-year-old Gyanendra Malla sealed a resounding 190-run victory for Nepal over Singapore in front of a large and vocal crowd at Bayeumas.
Coming in on the third ball of the day, man of the match Malla struck 13 fours and one six, sharing a 73-run second-wicket partnership with Naresh Budhaayer (29) and a fourth-wicket stand of 92 with Sharad Vesawkar (25).
After posting the first century of the tournament, Malla was dismissed in the 44th over, after which Nepal lost five wickets in four overs to reach a total of 263 for nine, the highest team total of the tournament to date.
Amjad Mehboob was Singapore’s leading wicket-taker, claiming four wickets for 47 in nine overs, while Darmichand Mulewa claimed three for 31 and Anish Paraam took two for 66.
In reply, Singapore lost opener Arjun Mutreja, the highest run-scorer in the tournament before today’s matches, for five runs in the second over. Coming in at number three, Chetan Suryawanshi top-scored with 15, as Nepal’s Sompal Kami and Amrit Bhattarai regularly claimed wickets to leave the side reeling at six for 41 in 10.4 overs. Left-armer Basant Regmi finished off the tail end, returning extraordinary figures of four wickets for six runs from 5.4 overs, with Sompal Kami claiming four for 41 and Amrit Bhattarai bagging two for 19.
Nepal skipper Paras Khadka was delighted with his side’s efforts: “I think it was an amazing performance overall from the boys. Hopefully it is the first of many to come in the remaining matches in the tournament. We’ve lost one game and had two victories, so it’s not over for us. We need to go out there and perform strongly.”
The captain said Malla’s man of the match performance was well deserved. “Gyanendra played very, very well. He’s been an amazing player for Nepal, but he’d not made three figures before. I think there’s a lot more to come from him. The bowlers followed up, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”