KATHMANDU, Aug 11: A century from Nepal all-rounder Sagar Pun helped Kuala Lumpur reach the final of the Malaysian Premier League (MPL) with a 122-run semifinal win over Selangor on Friday.
Pun, opening for the team, hit 100 runs off 118 deliveries which included nine boundaries before was caught and bowled by Hafizuddin when the score was 244-2 in 42.5 overs.
Earlier, Kuala Lumpur elected to bat first after winning the toss and presented a target of 305 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 50 overs. In reply, Selangor failed to chase the target and was limited to 183 for the loss of seven wickets in 50 overs.
Nepal defeats Malaysia to reach final
Pun was supported by captain Ahmed Faiz who hit 90 runs off 73 balls including 10 fours and a six, while the other opener Saifullah Malik scored 66 runs off 81 balls with 10 boundaries. The other Nepali batsman Asif Sheikh and Syed Aziz hit 20 and 10 runs respectively.
Hafizuddin was the pick of the Selangor bowlers as he pocketed two wickets giving away 67 runs in 10 overs, while Sharvin Muniandy and Dhivendran Mogan claimed a wicket each.
In reply, lower order batsman Mogan hit the highest 57 runs off 99 balls with seven boundaries, while captain and opener Shankar Sathish scored 35 runs off 38 balls including seven fours. Likewise, Muditha Geeganage and Roshan Singh contributed 21 balls each. Fitri Sham hit 16 runs, while all the other batsmen failed to reach the double figures.
Azis was the standout bowler for the winning team as he took three wickets, while Neville Liyanage claimed two and Virandeep Singh pocketed one.
Pun was named the man of the match.
