KATHMANDU: Nepal has secured its third consecutive win in the ongoing ACC Premier Cup League T20 cricket tournament held in Oman.

On Monday, Nepal defeated Hong Kong by 8 wickets, moving closer to the semi-finals.

Nepal currently holds the top position in the group with 6 points.

In Group A, Nepal had previously defeated Malaysia by 5 wickets in their first match and Qatar by 32 runs in the second match.

On Monday, Nepal successfully chased the target of 115 runs set by Hong Kong, losing only 2 wickets in 12.2 overs.

Nepal’s opening pair, Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel, contributed 40 and 32 runs respectively. Aasif scored 3 fours and 3 sixes in 18 balls, while Kushal hit 3 fours and 2 sixes in 19 balls.

Captain Rohit Paudel scored 25 runs off 20 balls, and Sandeep Jora added 19 runs off 17 balls.

Due to a delayed start because of the rain, the match was reduced to 18 overs.

Nepal won the toss and opted to field first. Hong Kong, batting first, managed to score 114 runs before getting all out.

Hong Kong’s opener Martin Coetzee was caught by Karan KC for 8 runs in the third over, dismissed by Asif Sheikh.

In the same over, Nepal’s captain Dipendra Singh Airee got Nizakat Khan run out for 12 runs.

Anshuman Rath, who scored the highest runs for Hong Kong, also fell victim to a run out in the ninth over.

In the next over, Nepal’s Gulshan Jha hit the stumps to get out Kinchit Shah, scoring 34 runs directly from a near boundary hit.

Afterward, Hong Kong’s batsmen struggled.

Babar Hayat and Aizaz Khan were bowled out for 6 and 7 runs respectively by Lalit Rajbanshi.

Similarly, Ishan Murtaza was bowled by Dipendra Singh Airee for 2 runs, and in the same over, Dhananjaya Rawal was also bowled out.

Abinash Bohara took 3 wickets, Lalit and Dipendra took 2-2 wickets each, and Karan took 1 wicket.

Abinash spent 29 runs in 4 overs, while Lalit conceded only 14 runs in 4 overs, and Dipendra spent 6 runs in 5 overs. Karan conceded 24 runs in 4 overs.

Nepal is in Group A among 10 participating teams, including Malaysia, Qatar, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia.

The tournament’s host Oman is in Group B, along with UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Cambodia.

Nepal will play its fourth match against Saudi Arabia on April 17.

The top two teams in the group will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be held on April 19, and the final on April 21.

The winning team of this tournament will qualify for the ACC Cup 2025.

The tournament serves as preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup.

Defending the ACC Premier Cup title Nepal won last year poses another challenge for Nepal.