Kathmandu, April 27
Nepal were victorious during their ACC Men’s Premier Cup match in Kathmandu on Thursday. Nepal beat Qatar by 68 runs at TU Cricket Ground.
Given the overcast conditions, Qatar won the toss and bowled first and took advantage of the conditions picking up two quick wickets as Kushal Bhurtel and Bhim Sarki got out cheaply.
Captain Rohit Paudel and Aasif Sheikh steadied the innings but as the two got out, Nepal lost a flurry of wickets as they were reduced to 111 for the loss of nine wickets thanks to an impressive bowling performance from Owais Ahmed and Amir Farooq who picked up three and four wickets respectively.
Nepali innings was rescued by a brilliant 42 by Sandeep Lamichhane who took on the Qatari bowlers with poise and confidence as he helped Nepal to 157.
Chasing 158, Qatar’s batters never looked comfortable as they had no answers to Lalit Rajbanshi, Sompal Kami and Lamichhane. Rajbanshi took two wickets while Kami took three but the pick of the bowlers was Lamichhane who took five wickets giving away only 14 runs.
With this victory, unbeaten Nepal finished as leaders of Group A under the ACC Men’s Premier Cup and are now two wins away from a maiden participation at the Asia Cup.
