Nepal won the ACC Premier Cup 2024 by beating Hong Kong by 8 wickets for the third time in a row. With the third win in Group A, Nepal’s trip to the semi-finals is only a formality.
Chasing the target of 115 runs, Nepal finished losing 2 wickets in 12.2 overs. Opener Asif Shaikh scored 40 runs off 18 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes. Another opener Kushal Bhurtel scored 32 runs off 19 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Asif Shaikh gave Nepal a brilliant start by adding 70 runs in 5.3 overs.
Rohit Paudel was not out for 25 runs with 3 fours off 20 balls. Sandeep Zora scored 19 runs in 17 balls with 1 four and 1 six. On the bowling side, Hong Kong’s Ehsan Khan and Yaseem Murtaza took 1/1 wicket each.
Before that, Hong Kong lost the toss at Al Amret Cricket Ground 1 and were invited to bat first. They were bowled out for 114 runs in 17.5 overs.
Captain Nizakat Khan scored 34 runs off 26 balls with 4 fours and 1 six. None of the other batters could perform well.
Opener Martin Kotji 8, Nizakat Khan 12, Babar Hayat 6, Aziz Khan 7, Yasim Murtaza 2, Nasrullah Rana 6, Zeeshan Ali 14 and Ehsan Khan were dismissed for 11 runs.
Nepal’s fast bowler Abhinash Bohra took 3 wickets for 29 runs in 4 overs. Lalit Rajwanshi took 2 wickets in 4 overs with 1 maiden at the expense of 14 runs. Dipendrasinh Airi took 2 wickets and Karan KC took 1 wicket.
Nepal defeated Malaysia by 5 wickets in the first match and Qatar by 32 runs in the second match.
Nepal will play the last match of the group stage against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. In Group A, only Malaysia and Saudi Arabia can reach 6 points.
Malaysia is playing against Qatar in another match on Monday. If Malaysia is defeated in that match, Nepal will reach the semi-finals today.
Two teams from each group will reach the semi-finals. The winner of the tournament will be eligible to play in the Asia Cup T20 tournament to be held after the T20 World Cup.
