KATHMANDU: Nepal will face Oman in the semi-final of the ongoing ACC Men’s Premier Cup cricket tournament in Malaysia today (Thursday).
The match, which begins at 7:15 am Nepali time, will see both teams competing for a place in the final. Nepal advanced to the semi-finals as the winner of Group A, while Oman finished as the runner-up in Group B.
Nepal secured its place in the last four after winning three of its four group-stage matches and finishing at the top of Group A. Nepal defeated Bahrain by seven wickets in its opening match, followed by a six-wicket victory over Malaysia and a five-wicket win against Saudi Arabia. However, Nepal suffered a 15-run defeat against Hong Kong in its final group-stage match.
Nepal’s batting has been a concern during the tournament, with the team having to work hard to chase relatively modest targets. Nepal successfully chased targets below 200 runs in each of its first three matches but failed to overhaul Hong Kong’s target of 262 runs in the final group game.
Nepal was bowled out for 246 runs in 49.1 overs. Ishan Pandey’s 90 was Nepal’s only half-century in the tournament so far. Arjun Kumal scored an unbeaten 45, while Asif Sheikh and Gulshan Jha contributed 44 each.
Despite the inconsistency with the bat, Nepal’s bowling has remained its biggest strength. Captain Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi and Dipendra Singh Airee have played key roles with the ball, taking crucial wickets and helping restrict opponents to manageable totals.
The other semi-final on Thursday will feature Group B winners United Arab Emirates (UAE) against Group A runners-up Hong Kong.
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