By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu (HamroKhelkud) – Hong Kong pip Nepal to book their place in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Hong Kong defeated Nepal in the third-place play-off of the ongoing ACC Premier Cup in Oman to confirm their place in the tournament alongside finalists Oman and UAE.
Hong Kong defeated Nepal by four wickets in Al Amerat to finish third as well as avenge their defeat earlier in the group stages. Hong Kong got over the line, chasing 140 with three balls to spare.
Opener Anshy Rath’s unbeaten 65 off 50 deliveries was the biggest difference against the Nepali side. He was joined by Nasrulla Rana’s undefeated 11 off 8. Babar Hayat added 26 runs to the total off 25 deliveries while Aizaz Khan took 10 deliveries to get to his 12.
Sompal Kami’s effort with three wickets in his four-over spell wasn’t enough for the Premier Cup defending champions. Dipendra Singh Airee took two wickets for Nepal.
Earlier, losing the toss and batting first, Nepal struggled to get to 140-6 in 20 overs. In an outing where others faltered, Dipendra Singh Airee’s 44 off 29 dragged Nepal to a decent total.
Sundeep Jora persisted well for his 23-ball 22 while skipper Rohit Paudel scored 21 off 19. Nepal’s top three being dismissed by Ayush Shukla in the initial overs put Nepal in a difficult situation and were avenged by Airee’s flurry towards the end.
Alongside Shukla’s heroics, Ateeq Iqbal, Yasim Murtaza and Ehsan Khan chipped in with a wicket each.
Nepal had topped their group with four wins out of four before bowing out of Asia Cup berth contention with a defeat against arch-rivals UAE.
