Kathmandu, September 11
Nepal secured a convincing 87-run victory over Oman in the semi-final of the ACC Premier Cup being held in Malaysia, thanks to an outstanding performance by its spin bowlers. Chasing Nepal’s target of 148 runs, Oman were bowled out for 60 in 28.1 overs.
Earlier, Nepal, having been invited to bat first after losing the toss, were all out for 147 in 45.4 overs. Dipendra Singh Airee was Nepal’s top scorer with 51 runs, while Basir Ahamad made 47. When Nepal were struggling at 36-4, Dipendra and Basir put together a 93-run partnership to steady the innings.
Dev Khanal scored 13, and Aasif Sheikh made 11, while none of Nepal’s other batters managed to reach double figures. Nepal lost their first wicket at 23 and slipped to 36-4 before recovering to 129-5 and eventually being bowled out for 147.
For Oman, Jay Odedra took three wickets while conceding just 26 runs in 10 overs. Hasnain Shah also claimed three wickets for 28 runs in 8.4 overs. Muhammad Imran took two wickets, while Shakeel Ahmed and Mujibur Ali claimed one each.
Nepal will now face the UAE in the final, which will be played on Saturday. If Nepal win the final, they will qualify for the Asia Cup.
By reaching the final, Nepal have also secured qualification for the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.
