Nepal’s spectacular win against Bhutan

Kathmandu – In the final league match of the ongoing ACC U‑16 East Zone Cup cricket tournament, Nepal defeated Bhutan by 298 runs. With this victory, Nepal entered the semifinals as the undefeated winner of Group A.

Winning the toss and batting first, Nepal set a target of 359 runs. In reply, Bhutan could score only 60 runs. Only two Bhutanese players reached double figures: opener Ugyen Kelzang Chophel made 10 runs, and Tshezang Dawa scored 14.

No other Bhutanese batsman reached double digits. Among Nepal’s bowlers, Bipin Prasad Sharma took 4 wickets, Sachin Bhatt claimed 2, and Suyog Bhattarai took 1.

Earlier, batting first, Nepal scored 358 runs for 5 wickets in the allotted 50 overs. Raunak Srivastav, already having secured semifinal entry, played a sensational innings of 168 runs.

Although Nepal’s openers didn’t settle, Shivansh Bajgain and Raunak Srivastav put together a 91-run partnership for the third wicket. Bajgain scored 54, while Srivastav struck 168 off 132 balls, including 16 fours and 5 sixes.

Other contributions came from Joy Thapa, who remained unbeaten on 61, and Sugam Budhathoki with 35 runs. For Bhutan, Sangay Dorji took 3 wickets, but no other bowler made a significant impact.