Kathmandu, September 8
Nepal lost to Hong Kong in their final group-stage match of the ACC Premier Cup. Hong Kong beat Nepal by 15 runs.
Chasing a target of 262 set by Hong Kong, Nepal were all out for 246 in 49.1 overs. Ishan Pandey top-scored for Nepal with 90, but it wasn’t enough for victory.
Asif Sheikh scored 44, Dipendra Singh Airee 25, Karan KC 21, and Gulshan Jha 20.
For Hong Kong, Ejaz Khan took 4 wickets, while Yasim Murtaza took 2, and Kinchit Shah, Nasrullah Rana, and Atiq Iqbal each took one.
Earlier, Babar Hayat’s brilliant unbeaten century helped Hong Kong post a total of 261 runs against Nepal.
Hong Kong scored 261 for 7 in 50 overs. At one stage struggling at 133-7, Hong Kong recovered as Babar Hayat scored a century and put on an unbeaten 128-run partnership with Ehsan Khan.
Babar remained not out on 117 off 127 balls, with 7 fours and 7 sixes, while Ehsan was not out on 34. Earlier, Shahid Wasif had scored 45.
For Nepal, captain Sandeep Lamichhane took 4 wickets for 44 runs in 10 overs. Sher Malla took 3 wickets for 27 runs in 10 overs.
Hong Kong’s victory eliminated hosts Malaysia from the tournament, while Hong Kong advanced to the semifinals.
