Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Sandeep Lamichhane shone with both bat and ball as Nepal defeated Qatar by 68 runs in the Group A tie of ACC Men’s Premier League at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kathmandu on Thursday.
Batting first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 157 runs losing all wickets in 40.3 overs. Qatar folded for 89 runs in 25.1 overs.
Lamichhane scored 42 runs off 58 balls and took five wickets with an impressive economy of 1.52 to ensure Nepal avoided an upset. This is Nepal’s third victory in the ACC Men’s Premier League. It leads Group A with 7 points from four games. It’s game against Saudi Arabia was washed out due to a wet outfield.
Nepal made a poor start in the game losing opener Kushal Bhurtel with just 2 runs on board. Nepali batsmen failed to build partnerships as the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals. Sandeep Lamichhane top-scored for Nepal scoring 42 runs from 58 balls. Captain Rohit Paudel scored 27 runs, while Aasif Sheikh 19 runs and Dipendra Singh Airee chipped in with 12 runs. Five Nepali batsmen failed to reach double digits.
Qatar faltered in the chase despite chasing a small target. Zaheer Ibrahim and Khurram Shahzad scored 15 runs each for Nepal, while Amir Farooq scored 14. Other Qatari batsment failed to reach double digits.
Sandeep Lamichhane took five wickets giving just 14 runs in 9.1 overs as Nepal defended its small total with ease. Sompal Kami took three wickets while Lalit Rajbanshi chipped in with two wickets.
