Nepal opened the defence of the ACC U-16 Eastern Region cricket tournament  title with a comprehensive seven wicket win over Myanmar in chiangmai,  Thailand, on Saturday.

Electing to bat first at the Prem Tinsulanonda International School grounds,  Myanmar were bowled out for 58 runs in 13.2 overs. Nepal coasted to victory  scoring 62-3 in just 8.1 overs.

Skipper Bishal Bikram KC led Nepal’s demolition of Myanmar taking out the first  two wickets of Khant Ko Ko and Ye Myant Thu with just three runs on the board.  Both the batsmen failed to open their account. The hapless Myanmar batting can  be summed up by the fact that only two of their batsmen—opener Christopher and  No 5 Kaung Htet Kyaw—reached double figure mark.

Kyaw top scored with a fluent 17-ball 19 while Christopher made 11 off seven  ball including a six and a four. Four of their batsmen were run out. KC returned  with figures of 4-21 from five overs, while Ramesh Kurmi and Nikhil Kumar Singh  claimed one wicket each for Nepal.

In reply, Nepal lost Opener Deepak Bohara (6), Suwash Ayer (11) and KC (3) to  be 25-3 by the fourth over. But Bohara’s opening partner Arjun Kumar played  with his natural flair to complete the chase. Despite seeing wickets tumble at  the other end, Kumar stuck to his natural game scoring a quickfire 26 off just  15 balls including four hits to the fence. Prashan Mahat also remained unbeaten  on 9, hitting one boundary in his 15-ball innings. Kyaw took two and Ko Ko  claimed one wicket for Myanmar.

Apart from Myanmar, Nepal are pitted in Group ‘A’ with Malaysia and Thailand. Singapore,  Hong Kong, China and Bhutan are in Group ‘B’. Nepal take on Malaysia on April 24 and Thailand the next day. Top two teams from each pool will qualify for the  semi-finals. Nepal clinched the ACC U-16 Eastern Region title defeating Singapore by 71 runs  on December 17, 2017.

Summary

Nepal 62-3 in 8.1 overs (A Kumal 26*. S Ayer 11; KH Kyaw 2-24)

beat Myanmar 58 in 13.2 overs

(KH Kyaw 19. Christopher 11; Bishal Bikram KC  4-21, NK Singh 1-0)

by seven wickets