Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal registered its second straight win in the ACC Men’s U16 East Zone Cup 2025, defeating Japan by nine wickets in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Electing to bat first, Japan was all out for 80 runs in 34.3 overs. Nepal achieved the target of 81 runs, losing one wicket in just 14.2 overs.
Japan made a disastrous start with the bat as its top three batters were out for 4, 0 and 8, respectively. Captain Charlie Harahinze offered some resistance, scoring 36 off 48 balls. Gabba Harahinze contributed 13 from 30 balls. Other Japanese batters failed to reach double digits.
Shubham Khanal claimed five wickets for Nepal, while Abhay Yadav contributed two, and Sushil Rawal and Captain Bipin Parsad Sharma had a wicket each to their names.
Although Nepal lost opener Joy Thapa early in the chase, Prasiddha Jaisi and Shiwansh Bajgain added an unbeaten 76 runs for the second wicket to earn a second win in as many matches for Nepal in the tournament. Jaishi scored 33 of 37 balls, while Bajgain contributed 38 from 42 balls.
Kaisei Doggett took the only wicket for Japan.
Nepal will play its next match against Indonesia on June 29.
A total of 10 teams are participating in the competition. Nepal is in Group A, which also includes Singapore, Japan, Bhutan and Indonesia. Similarly, Group B consists of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar and Thailand.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinal, with the group topper facing the runner-up of the opposite group.
