KATHMANDU, Aug 17:

Nepal inched closer to the ACC U-16 Premier title after recording its third consecutive win in the tournament on Sunday. Anil Kharel, the team´s youngest player, inspired Nepal to a massive 102-run win over Oman with a six-wicket haul at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Two-time runner-up Nepal is now two matches away from claiming the only title that has eluded it so far in age-group cricket competitions. Nepal takes on Bahrain on Monday and host Malaysia on Wednesday in its final two matches of the six-team tournament being held in round-robin format. Nepal will clinch the trophy if it wins both the matches.

Nepal had defeated Thailand by 10 wickets and Singapore by 49 runs in its first two matches of the tournament.

Man-of-the-match Anil claimed six wickets to restrict Oman to a meager 62 runs in 29.1 overs after Nepal had set a target of 165 runs. The 13-year-old left-hander proved miserly as he gave away just 12 runs in his six overs. He also gave Nepal the breakthrough by claiming the first wicket of Oman in the 17th over.

Another spinner Jitendra Singh Thakuri claimed the remaining four wickets conceding only four runs in his 4.1 overs, which included two maidens.

Jitendra took his wickets tally in the tournament to 12 with the four-wicket haul. He had taken five wickets against Thailand in the opening match.  

Paritosh Nitesh and Ivan Joseph gave a good start to Oman by stitching up a 49-run opening partnership. Paritosh made 18 runs and Ivan contributed 27 runs before Anil had the latter caught by Jitendra as the first wicket.

Jitendra, who also took three catches, caught and bowled Paritosh in the 22nd over. Oman suffered a dramatic collapse losing its last nine wickets in a span of eight overs. Seven of Oman´s batsmen failed to open the score.  

Earlier, Nepal accumulated 164 runs in its allotted 40 overs losing all wickets after it was invited to bat first.

Jitendra remained unbeaten on 32 runs while Rabindra Jung Shah contributed 25 runs off 32 balls.

Though Nepal´s innings included only two fours, all the batsmen made a significant contribution.

Joseph claimed three wickets for Oman while Indunil Udara and Hemil Mahesh Kumar bagged two wickets apiece.

Nepal leads the standings with six points. Defending champion Malaysia is second on five points while Singapore and Bahrain have three points each.

Oman has one point while Thailand lies at the bottom having lost all three matches.

Photos:ACC