Nepal outclass Iraq in West Asian Baseball Cup

KARACHI: Nepal on Sunday comprehensively defeated Iraq 13-3 in their Group A last round fixture of the West Asian Baseball Cup to stay alive in the event.

In their second game of the five-nation event at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad, Nepal’s batters did a fine job to outshine weak Iraq who would face holders Pakistan in their do-or-die clash on Monday (today).

Nepal on Saturday had tasted a 1-16 defeat at the hands of hosts Pakistan.

For Nepal, Anil Pariyar scored three runs while Milan Thapa, Neewan Nath and Achit Karki scored two each as Iraqi pitchers had to toil hard to prevent their rivals’ batters from managing big shots.

Rajesh Basnet and Binod Koirala made one run each.

Jaffar Hussain, Mustafa Layth and Marjatha Sultan scored one run each for Iraq.

Meanwhile in a Group B game, Sri Lanka whipped Iran 22-0. Both teams have already qualified for Tuesday’s semi-finals after the third side of the group India failed to arrive due to visa issue.

It means that Sri Lanka topped the group. Sandun and Asanka were the top performers with four runs each. Naween and Iresh made three each.

The final will be held on March 1. Pakistan had also hosted the previous edition last year at the same venue.