On Monday, Singapore will play Denmark for the third place, while host Malaysia takes on Tanzania for the fifth place.
At the start of Sunday, with the sun beaming down on all three venues, three teams (Denmark, Singapore and USA) were in contention to join Nepal in the final. But in the end it was just USA which got a chance to make the title round.
USA won the toss and batted first at Bayuemas Oval, and was bowled out for 263 in 49 overs. USA got off to a brisk start with Sushil Nadkarni and Steven Taylor (the two highest run-getters of the tournament so far) putting on 80 for the first wicket before the young left-hander was bowled for 50 (46b, 5x4, 3x6).
The USA innings lost some momentum because of the accuracy of Singapore's spinners. At 148 for five in the 36th over, it looked like USA would be struggling to get past 220.
Timroy Allen (45), Ryan Corns (24) and Elmore Hutchinson (21) then took the attack to the bowlers and USA scored at more than eight an over in the last hour to end on 263 all out after 49 overs.
Two overs were completed after lunch, with Singapore on nine without loss when heavy rains came. More than two hours passed before play could resume. The players took the field with Singapore's revised target after applying Duckworth-Lewis method, reading 186 off 27 overs.
The first Singapore wicket fell in the sixth over with the score on 39. Three wickets then fell for three runs in ten balls, to leave Singapore struggling at 52 for four in the 11th over.
Ultimately the target proved too big for Singapore to chase down. The Americans won by 37 runs after another rain burst curtailed Singapore’s chase.
USA captain Steve Massiah, on learning of his team's entry to the final on net run-rate was thrilled.
"It means so much to USA cricket to get this far and go ahead to Division 3. We've got a great bunch of passionate and talented boys who deserve this. Everything today went to plan and we're looking forward to the final tomorrow," said Massiah.
At the Kinrara Oval, top of the table Nepal took on Denmark in a must-win game for the European side. Nepal's innings was held together by hard-hitting opener Anil Mandal who made his first and the tournament's third hundred. He gave just one difficult chance on the boundary in his knock of 113 (134b, 8x4, 4x6).
Nepal's bowlers were themselves in relative charge when the skies opened after 25 overs with Denmark on 77 for three. Play resumed very close to the cut-off point for abandonment with Denmark's target revised to 156 off 31 overs, which meant that it needed to score 79 off the possible six overs remaining.
Adam Lambert was out for 47, first ball after the resumption of play, but the rest of the batsmen continued to hit about as Denmark stayed in the hunt until almost the very end.
Denmark finally ended 26 runs short as a 100-strong Nepal crowd cheered their side on.
Nepal's captain Paras Khadka was delighted with his team's performance in this match. "Anil Mandal's excellent hundred and our fielding and bowling had been really top class."
On the final itself, Khadka said, "It's an opportunity for Nepal's senior side to win a trophy outside home conditions which will be a good thing for the country. It doesn't matter who we play, we're going in unbeaten and we aim to keep it that way."
In the match at the Selangor Turf Club, host Malaysia secured its first win of the tournament, over Tanzania.
Tanzania batting first made 187, thanks to Kassim Nassoro (47) and Nasimba Mapunda.
Malaysia lost Hammad Ullah Khan to the second ball of its innings but veteran left-handed opener Rakesh Madhavan played the leading role in the chase ending at an unbeaten 102 (104 b, 15x4) to guide his team home for the loss of five wickets.
It was with mixed emotions that Madhavan celebrated the triumph.
"It's always good to score a hundred and help the team win but it was a shame that it was too late. We've been doing well in patches and a poor first match dented our confidence and we did not have the necessary luck at times."
Scores in Brief
At Bayuemas Oval
USA 263 all out, 49 overs (Nadkarni 33, Taylor 50, Massiah 30, Allen 45; Janjua 4-40)
Singapore (Target 167 off 24 overs, D/L Method) 129 for eight off 24 overs (Arora 26; Ghous 2-20, Allen 2-29)
USA won by 37 runs (D/L Method)
Player of the Match: Timroy Allen (USA)
At Kinrara Academy Oval
Nepal 258 for eight, 50 overs (Mandal 113)
Denmark (target 156 off 31 overs, D/L Method) 130 for nine off 31 overs (Lambert 47, P.Khadka 4-34)
Nepal won by 26 runs (D/L Method)
Player of the Match: Anil Mandal (Nepal)
At Selangor Turf Club
Tanzania 187 all out, 49.2 overs (Nasoro 47, Mipunda 32; Yusof 3-30, Azril 3-32)
Malaysia 191 for five, 37.1 overs (Madhavan 102 not out; Rehemtulla 3-46)
Malaysia won by five wickets
Player of the Match: Rakesh Madhavan (Malaysia)
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