KATHMANDU, Sept 3: With mathematical chances of clinching the title still alive, Nepal will meet Saudi Arabia in its fifth and last match of the ACC U-19 Premier League in Malaysia on Thursday.
The match between Nepal and Saudi Arabia will be played at the Kelab Aman in Kuala Lumpur at 7.15 am NST.It is a must-win match for Nepal to keep its chances of claiming the title as it has already lost one out of four matches while title contender Afghanistan has won all four matches.
Nepal's victory over Saudi Arabia alone is not sufficient to win the title. It is essential for Afghanistan to go down against Malaysia if Nepal is to finish first. In such scenario, all three leading teams - Nepal, Malaysia and Afghanistan - shall have equal eight points and the champion will be decided on the basis of net run rate.
Nepal has an upper hand against Saudi Arabia in the U-19 level as the two teams have faced each other twice, with Nepal winning both the matches with big margin.
Nepal beat Saudi Arabia by 137 runs with the help of Amrit Bhattrai's 82 runs off 93 balls in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup held in Kuwait in 2009 and thrashed the same opponent by 195 runs in last year's ACC U-19 Premier League, which was also held in Kuwait. Shankar Rana, who is currently in the national squad of Nepal, had scored 89 runs off 82 balls in the match.
In the ongoing tournament, Nepal defeated the UAE, Malaysia, and Kuwait but lost to Afghanistan. Afghanistan on the other hand defeated Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Nepal. Similarly, Malaysia recorded victories over Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.
Afghanistan, Malaysia and Nepal have also qualified for the ACC U-19 Asia Cup after confirming the top three positions in this tournament.
Kuwait and the UAE will also play their last match on Thursday.
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