Nepal reach Premier Cup semi-finals with five-wicket win over Saudi Arabia

Nepal secured a place in the ACC Men’s Premier Cup semi-finals with a five-wicket win over Saudi Arabia at the Bayuemas Cricket Oval in Kuala Lumpur.

Chasing 191, Nepal reached 193-5 in 41 overs. Gulshan Kumar Jha finished unbeaten on 44 from 35 balls, while captain Rohit Kumar Paudel remained not out on 24 from 37 balls. Their unbeaten 61-run partnership removed the uncertainty after Nepal briefly slipped to 125-4 and then lost Dipendra Singh Airee five runs later.

Nepal’s chase had earlier been rebuilt by Dev Khanal and Ishan Pandey, who added 73 for the third wicket. Arjun Kumal and Aasif Sheikh had put on 28 for the opening wicket before both fell in quick succession.

Saudi Arabia also recovered before collapsing. After captain Waji Ul Hassan was bowled for a duck in the second over, Abdul Waheed and Muhammad Atif added 94 for the second wicket. Waheed made 77 from 89 balls, including 10 fours and two sixes, while Atif scored 30 from 68 balls.

Waheed’s dismissal at 112-2 began Saudi Arabia’s slide to 166-9. Nepal’s spinners repeatedly broke through the middle and lower order, with skipper Sandeep Lamichhane taking 3-19, Dipendra Singh Airee 3-43 and Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi 2-26. Nepal’s decision to replace fast bowler Hemant Dhami with Sher Malla paid off, as its spinners claimed nine of Saudi Arabia’s 10 wickets. The victory was Nepal’s third straight, following wins over Bahrain and Malaysia.