Qatar won the toss and elected to bat first. Nepal bundled out Qatar for 93 runs in 36.3 overs as Karn claimed four wickets. He bowled 7.3 overs and gave away 26 runs to claim four wickets. Likewise, Sushant Bhari claimed two wickets with a bowling figure of 6-3-11-2. Skipper Bhuwan Karki and Nischal Pandey dismissed a batsman each. Two of the Qatar batsmen were run out.[break]
Uzair Amir (24 runs off 67 balls) was the highest scorer for Qatar. Abdullah Mohammad (16 runs off 36 balls), Syed Safwan Shah (14 runs off 19 balls) and Jahangir Ehsan (12 runs off 7 balls) were the other major contributors for Qatar.
Chasing the low total, Nepal reached 94/1 in 10.5 overs. Shrestha and Nischal Pandey (12 runs off 26 balls) shared an opening stand of 56 runs. Shrestha then put on an unbeaten 38 runs with Harishankar Shah (8 runs off 7 balls) to seal a comprehensive victory. Shrestha clobbered 11 fours and a six during his 70-run knock.
Nepali vice-captain Karn was adjudged the man-of-the-match for his brilliant bowling performance.
"We played without any pressure against Qatar," said Nepali team captain Bhuwan Karki. "We were planning to field first and we got to do the same despite losing the toss," he added.
Nepal had defeated Kuwait by 84 runs on Friday in its first match of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup. Nepal will take on Bahrain in its third group-stage match on Monday.
"We are undefeated against Bahrain so far and we want to maintain the winning run against them. We also want to maintain the momentum we have gained in this tournament," said Karki.
Team coach Jagat Tamata was pleased with the performances against Kuwait and Qatar. "Players have been executing the plans we had made before the tournament. I want the boys to keep up the momentum," said Tamata.
Nepali batsman Prem Tamang, who missed the second match after sustaining injury during the match against Kuwait, is expected to return for the match against Bahrain. According to team physiotherapist Dr Saroj Pandey, Tamang will be fit by Monday morning.
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