KATHMANDU: The Nepali national cricket team has registered its third consecutive victory in the ACC Premier Cup, defeating Saudi Arabia by five wickets on Sunday.
With the win, Nepal has secured a place in the semi-finals with one group-stage match to spare. Nepal have climbed to the top of Group A with six points from three matches. Nepal will face Hong Kong in their final group-stage match on Tuesday. Nepal defeated Bahrain by seven wickets in their opening group-stage match and Malaysia by six wickets in their second match.
Chasing a target of 191 runs set by Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Nepal reached 192 for five in 41 overs. Gulshan Jha and Rohit Poudel remained unbeaten on 44 and 24 runs, respectively. Gulshan struck three fours and three sixes in his 35-ball innings, while Rohit hit two fours off 37 balls.
Ishan Pandey scored 40 runs off 59 balls, including two fours, while Dev Khanal contributed 39 runs off 58 balls, hitting one four and one six. Openers Arjun Kumal and Asif Sheikh were dismissed for 15 and 20 runs, respectively.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia, who won the toss and elected to bat at the Wayomas Oval in Malaysia, were bowled out for 190 runs in 49.2 overs. Opener Abdul Wahid Abdul Ghaffar top-scored for Saudi Arabia with 77 runs. He struck 10 fours and two sixes in his 89-ball innings before being dismissed lbw by Lalit Rajbanshi.
Muhammad Atif scored 30 runs, while Mohammad Hisam Sheikh contributed 28. Muhammad Shakib made 14, Zainul Abidin 12 and Istiq Ahmed 10 runs. Captain Sandeep Lamichhane took three wickets for Nepal, conceding 19 runs in his 10-over spell, including two maidens.
Dipendra Singh Airee also claimed three wickets for 43 runs in 9.2 overs. Lalit Rajbanshi took two wickets, while Sher Malla and Gulshan Jha claimed one wicket each.
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