Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a 15-run defeat against Hong Kong China in their last group-stage match of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2026 in Malaysia on Tuesday.
Despite the defeat, Nepal advanced to the semifinals as Group A winners. Nepal will meet Oman in the semifinal on Thursday. Hong Kong will meet the UAE in the other semifinal on the same day.
Batting first, Hong Kong scored 261 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 50 overs, riding on Babar Hayat’s century. In reply, Nepal were bowled out for 246 runs in 49.1 overs despite a fighting 90 off 106 balls from Ishan Pandey.
Although Nepal removed Hong Kong openers Zeeshan Ali (15) and Anshuman Rath (13) cheaply, Hayat scored an unbeaten 117 off 126 balls to take Hong Kong’s total past 260. He found support from Shahid Wasif (45 off 49 balls) and Ehsan Khan (35 not out off 46 balls). Other Hong Kong batters failed to reach double figures.
Captain Sandeep Lamichhane picked up four wickets for Nepal, while Sher Malla took three.
Nepal made a poor start in their chase of 262. Although opener Mahamad Asif Sheikh scored 44 off 50 balls, Nepal lost Arjun Kumal (14) in the ninth over and Dev Khanal (6) in the 17th over. Although Ishan Pandey made 90, he failed to find support at the other end. Rohit Paudel fell for 3. Dipendra Singh Airee (25), Gulsan Kumar Jha (20) and Karan KC (21) got starts but failed to convert them into big scores or provide enough support to Pandey.
Aizaz Khan claimed four wickets for Hong Kong, while Yasim Murtaza picked up two. Attequl Iqbal and Nasrull Rana took one wicket each.
