Suresh Navaratnam´s anchoring knock turned the match into a thriller and nearly upset Nepali fans. However, Basanta Regmi and skipper Paras Khadka took wickets in the final and penultimate overs to wrap up Malaysia for 263 runs to the relief of Nepali fans in a nail-biting match. [break]
Malaysia had a shocking start as Mehboob Alam bowled opener Damith Warusavithana in the very first ball of the innings. Skipper Khadka took the wicket of Ahmad Faiz in the third ball of the second over to keep Malaysia at 1/2.
However, Navaratnam came to the crease blazing all guns and anchored the Malaysian innings. Navaratnam produced an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Suhan Kumar, who scored 70 runs. Though Sanjam Regmi removed Kumar, veteran Navaratnam continued his role. He scored 115 runs off 103 balls. Shafiq Sharif (31 runs off 18 balls), who stood ninth, troubled Nepal along with Navaratnam.
However, Nepal got rid of Navaratnam and Sharif in the 49th over. Sanjam Regmi caught Navaratnam off skipper Khadka´s second ball in the 49th over and Sharif was run out. Malaysia needed merely 13 runs in last over but Basanta Regmi bowled Shahrulnizam Yusof to pull off a thrilling victory by eight runs.
Khadka and Regmi duo claimed two wickets each while Rahul Vishvakarma and Shakti Gauchan took a wicket each during the proceedings.
Earlier, Nepal put up 271 runs losing six wickets in limited 50 overs after Malaysia asked them to bat first. Nepal´s newly discovered sensational opening pair could not continue their spell in the semifinal and lost opener Anil Mandal for four runs.
However, opener Mahesh Chhetri and Shakti Gauchan produced an 87-run second wicket partnership. Mahesh scored 43 off 86 balls while Shakti struck 52 runs and became the first Nepali batsman to score 1,000 one-day runs at the international level. However, Nepal lost two wickets -- Chhetri and skipper Khadka -- in the interval of four runs.
Gyanendra Malla added 49 runs and Sharad Vesawkar anchored the Nepali innings with 97 not out. Vesawkar, who came in the crease in the 30th over, played 66 balls and struck 10 boundaries and a six to lift Nepal´s total.
Deependra Chaudhary added 14 runs while Alam was not out on 1 run at the end of the 50th over. Suresh Navaratnam, Shahrulnizam Yusof and Eszrafiq Azis took two wickets each for Malaysia.
Afghanistan defeated Hong Kong by five wickets at the Unity Ground on Wednesday.
Nepal are playing the ACC Elite Trophy for the second time in their history. Nepal had defeated Malaysia by 24 runs in the semifinal but lost against the UAE in Singapore in the 2002 final. Nepal, who lost crucial matches earlier and were labeled ´chokers´, will take on Afghanistan in the final of the tournament on Friday.
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