Kuala Lumpur, Jun 9 (IANS): Qatar and Nepal finished their ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2022 campaign with wins after they beat Bhutan and Malaysia respectively, here on Thursday.

An all-round effort by Aleena Khan, picking 3/8 with the ball and later scoring an unbeaten 41 in a chase of 115, led Qatar to a 7-wicket win over Bhutan. The win meant Qatar avoided the wooden spoon as Bhutan remained winless.

Having won the toss and elected to bowl first, Qatar's bowlers strayed initially as Bhutan openers Sonam and captain Ngawang Choden raced to 42 in four overs before Qatar captain Saachi Dhadwal ran out Sonam for 12.

Choden, who top-scored with 27, while hitting five boundaries, followed two overs later edging a delivery from Aleena Khan to the keeper Shruti Rana in the seventh over.

Three other batters got starts but failed to convert it into a significant score with as many as four batters scoring 12. Bhutan lost three wickets in the last over bowled by Dhadwal, two run-outs and an LBW, to finish on 114-9. Aleena Khan registered figures of 4-0-8-3.

In reply, Sonam priced out opener Dhadwal for a duck as no wickets fell for the next 15 overs. Rana and Khan put on a mammoth 107-run partnership for the second wicket as Qatar cruised to the target in 17 overs despite a couple of late wickets by Chado Om and a run-out. Rana struck seven boundaries but fell a run short of a half-century.

In another game, a half-century partnership between Anjali Bishowkarma and Ashma Magar backed up the bowlers to set up Nepal's 25-run victory over the hosts Malaysia at the UKM Oval. The win helped Nepal finish third in the tournament.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Nepal lost Kiran Kunwar, run out for a duck, in the first over. Anjali Bishowkarma (33) and Ashma Magar (26) partnered each other to weather the new-ball impact. The duo struck three boundaries between them as they put up a 58-run stand for the first wicket.

Once Magar was dismissed in the 14th over, caught off Nur Dania, Nepal failed to gather any momentum. Shristi Jaisi soon followed, bowled off Nur Dania, and her wicket precipitated a collapse that saw Nepal lose 5 wickets for 17 runs to finish on 86-7.

In reply, Malaysian batters started the chase slowly and lost both openers with 25 on the board in the eighth over. Elsa Hunter led from the front with a 32-ball 28 but found little support from the other end and was dismissed by her opposite number, Nepal's Kritika Marasini in the 13th over.

Requiring 47 off 42 balls with six wickets in hand, Malaysian batters could only manage 21 to finish with 61-4 and end their campaign with a loss. Marasini stood out with figures of 4-1-6-2.

Brief scores:

Bhutan vs Qatar

Bhutan 114/9 in 20 overs lost to Qatar 115/3 in 17 overs by 7 wickets.

Malaysia vs Nepal

Nepal 86/7 in 20 overs beat Malaysia 61/4 in 20 overs by 25 runs