Nepal defeated Saudi Arabia by 5 wickets to secure a spot in the ACC Premier Cup semifinals with one game to spare. Chasing a target of 191 runs set by Saudi Arabia, Nepal reached the target in 41 overs, losing 5 wickets in the process. Gulshan Jhaj scored an unbeaten 44 runs, while captain Rohit Paudel contributed 24 runs. Sandeep Lamichhane took 3 wickets.
September 6, Kathmandu – With their third consecutive victory, Nepal has confirmed their place in the ACC Premier Cup semifinals. In the match held on Sunday, Nepal beat Saudi Arabia, ensuring semifinal qualification before playing all the group stage games.
Chasing 191 runs, Nepal completed the target in 41 overs with 5 wickets down. Gulshan Jhaj remained unbeaten on 44, and captain Rohit Paudel was also not out with 24 runs. Earlier, Ishan Pande scored 40 and Dev Khanal made 39 runs. Asif Sheikh contributed 20, and Arjun Kumal added 15 runs.
From Saudi Arabia, Istiyak Ahmed and Muhammad Atif took 2 wickets each, while Mohammad Hisham took 1 wicket. Saudi Arabia won the toss and chose to bat first, being bowled out for 190 runs in 49.2 overs. Abdul Waheed was their highest scorer with 77 runs, followed by Mohammad Atif with 30 and Mohammad Hisham Sheikh with 18 runs.
For Nepal, captain Sandeep Lamichhane bowled 10 overs, conceding 19 runs and taking 3 wickets. Lalit Rajvanshi took 2 wickets for 26 runs in 10 overs. Deependra Singh Airey claimed 3 wickets, and Sher Malla took 1 wicket. Nepal had previously defeated Bahrain and Malaysia in the tournament. Nepal will face Hong Kong in their final group stage match on Tuesday, which will determine the group winner.
