KATHMANDU, APR 07 - Group ‘A’ toppers Nepal will take on Group ‘B’ runners up Malaysia at Hubara Cricket Ground while Afghanistan play Hong Kong at Unity Ground in the semi-finals of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Trophy Elite 2010 tournament on Wednesday.
Nepal’s spinner Sanjam Regmi (right) receives man of the match trophy after the match between Nepal and Kuwait at the Hubara Cricket Ground in Kuwait on Tuesday. Regmi took four wickets to guide Nepal to eight-wicket win over hosts Kuwait.
Mahesh Chettri’s brilliant form with the bat continued as Nepal routed host Kuwait by eight wickets in the last group match on Tuesday. With the win Nepal finished the group stage at the top of Group ‘A’ with eight points from four matches.
Chasing a small target of 121 runs, opener Chettri hit 63 off 83 balls including eight boundaries as Nepal reached the target in 27 overs with the loss of two wickets at Hubara Cricket Ground.
Chettri and Anil Mandal put up 80 runs for the opening partnership, with Mandal chipping in with 33 runs. Likewise, Shakti Gauchana and Gyanendra — the latter having joined the team on Monday — remained unbeaten on 13 and three runs respectively. Khalid Yamin and Saud Iqbal took a wicket each for the hosts.
Earlier, Nepal won the toss and elected to field. Sanjam Regmi and Binod Das shared seven wickets between them to wreck Kuwait’s inning. Regmi took four wickets while Das, who had been dropped in the last match, made a solid come back as he took three to limit the hosts’ innings to 120 runs in 42 overs. Mehboob Alam took two wickets while captain Paras Khadka claimed one.
For Kuwait, Iqbal and Saif Ullah stroked 26 and 21 runs respectively while Saad Khalid, who was looking good with 24 runs, had no one to support him at the other end.
Malaysia booked their berth in the last four as they defeated UAE by two wickets. Third in the points table with two points from two matches, Malaysia needed to complete the target of 153 runs set by UAE in 28.2 overs to finish among top-two in Group ‘B’. Malaysia achieved the feat in 27.1 overs to edge UAE out of contention.
Likewise, Hong Kong nailed Oman by a wicket at KEC on Tuesday to advance to the semi-final as runners-up of Group ‘A’. Hong Kong chased the target of 168 runs set by Oman with two balls to spare and a wicket in hand. With the win Hong Kong leaped to second position with six points from four matches while Oman slipped to third with four points from as many matches
