KATHMANDU, March 9: Nepal  defeated Papua New Guinea (PNG) by 52 runs in the match played out at TU cricket ground. Chasing the target of 298 runs given by Nepal, PNG was bowled out for 245 runs in 47.1 overs.

Tony Ura and Norman Vanua were the top scorers for PNG. Ura scored 50 runs including nine fours in 44 balls while Vanua scored 60 runs in 55 balls. His innings included three fours and four sixes.

Similarly, captain Assad Vala scored 42, Kiplin Doriga scored 26, Riley Hekur scored 20 and Charles Amini scored 14. The other players could not even reach double figures.

For Nepal, Sandeep Lamichhane took four wickets, Dipendra Singh Airee two wickets and Kushal Malla one wicket.

Earlier, after losing the toss and being invited to bat, Nepal scored 297 runs after losing all wickets in 49.1 overs. This is Nepal's highest score in international cricket so far.

Earlier in February, Nepal scored 287 runs in a match against Namibia. The match was held at the TU cricket ground.

Asif Sheikh hit 110 runs off as many balls. It’s his first century. His innings included 12 fours and two sixes. Earlier, his highest score was 90 runs. Along with this, he has completed 1,000 runs in ODIs. He has scored 1000 runs in 32 matches.

Similarly, for Nepal, Kushal Bhurtel scored 45, Bhim Sharki 44, Rohit Paudel 30, Aasif Sheikh 15 and Gyanendra Malla 11. For PNG, Semo Kamea took five wickets, Riley Hekure three and Alei Nao one.

With this victory, Nepal has obtained two more points. Nepal, which is fifth in the points table of League-2, has bagged 34 points so far. Now if they win one match, Nepal's ODI ranking will be maintained.

The second match of the ongoing ODI series in Kirtipur will be between PNG and the UAE. Nepal's next match will be against the UAE on March 12.