Nepal defeats Hong Kong by eight wickets in ACC Men’s Premier Cup

KATHMANDU: Nepal inched closer to the semifinal of the 2024 ACC Men’s Premier by defeating Hong Kong by eight wickets in Al Amerat of Oman on Monday.

Batting first in the match reduced to 18 overs, Hong Kong was all out scoring 114 runs in 17.5 overs. Chasing 114 to earn its third victory in as many matches, Nepal scored 117 losing two wickets with 34 balls to spare.

Hong Kong lost its first wicket with just 12 runs on the board in the first ball of the third over bowled by Karan KC. Hong Kong lost wickets at regular intervals. Except for Anshuman Rath, who scored 34 runs off 26 balls before being run out by Gulshan Jha, other Hong Kong batters failed to make a significant contribution with the bat. Zeeshan Ali scored 14, while Captain Nizakat Khan contributed 12 and Ehsan Khan struck 11 runs. Other Hong Kong batters failed to reach double digits.

Abinash Bohara took three wickets for Nepal, while Lalit Rajbanshi and Dipendra Singh had two wickets each to their names, and Karan KC contributed with one wicket.

The opening pair of Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh gave a blistering start for Nepal, adding 70 runs for the first wicket. Kushal departed in the sixth over, scoring 32 runs off 19 balls, while Aasif Sheikh scored 40 runs from 18 balls. Captain Rohit Poudel and Sandeep Jora remained unbeaten at 25 and 19 runs, respectively.

Ehsan Khan and Yasim Murtaza took a wicket each for Hong Kong.

Nepal leads Group ‘A’ with six points from three games. Nepal will now meet Saudi Arabia in its final group game on Wednesday.

The top two teams from each group progress to the semifinals.