Malaysia won the toss and decided to bat in the finals of the third Under-19 Youth Asia Cup-2001 cricket championship being played in Kathmandu Valley Thursday.

Nepal entered the finals of the Youth Cup played biennially to popularize cricket in non test nations in Asia for the second time. Malaysia lost to Nepal in the semi-finals of the last championship held in Singapore.

Nepal entered the finals of the eight nation tournament Thursday without conceding a match. Nepal is playing at home in front of a friendly crowd. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and latest entrants Bangladesh are the only test playing countries in Asia.

The match is being played at the Tribhuvan University cricket ground. The match is being watched by a big crowd.