Nepal U-16 Starts East Cup with Win Over Singapore

Nepal’s U-16 cricket team kicked off their Men’s U-16 East Cup campaign in Malaysia with a strong win against Singapore, led by opener Prasidha Jaisi’s unbeaten half-century.

Chasing 139 runs, Nepal reached the target in 33.3 overs, losing 4 wickets. Jaisi stayed at the crease till the end, scoring 55 runs off 97 balls.

He had good support early on from fellow opener Suryashu Koirala, who retired hurt after scoring 9 runs in a 41-run opening stand. Wicketkeeper Shivansh Bajgain was out for 9.

Nepal’s win was made easier by a 63-run partnership between Jaisi and Raunak Srivastava. Raunak played a quick knock of 40 off 44 balls, hitting 5 boundaries and a six.

Though Nepal lost a few quick wickets, Joy Thapa (4), Sugam Budhathoki (0) Shubham Khanal remained not out with 9 runs to help finish the chase.

Singapore’s Akash Teja took 3 wickets, while Yuvhan Pandey took 1.

Earlier, Singapore chose to bat first and were bowled out for 138 runs in 36.1 overs. Their captain Riyan Nayak scored 53, while Ahan Bhudhanbham added 38.

Nepal’s bowlers did well, with captain Bipin Sharma taking 4 wickets. Sachin Bhatt got 3, and Khanal and Abhay Yadav picked up one each.

A total of 10 teams are taking part in the tournament, split into two groups. Nepal is in Group A with Singapore, Indonesia, Bhutan, and Japan. Group B has Malaysia, Hong Kong, Maldives, Thailand, and Myanmar.

Nepal’s next match is against Japan on Tuesday. They will play Indonesia and Bhutan later in the group stage on Sunday.