Nepal entered the semi-finals of the ACC U-16 Eastern Region cricket tournament defeating Hong Kong by four wickets for their second consecutive victory at the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Tuesday.

Electing to bat first, Hong Kong were squeezed out for 82-9 in 35 overs before Nepal reached 84-6 in a match where Ajay Kumar Loniya returned with remarkable figures of 2-2 from seven overs with five maidens. The result saw Nepal lead Group ‘A’ standings with four points from two matches.

With Hong Kong and Thailand — two points each — playing each other on Thursday, Nepal are certain not to finish outside top two. They play Myanmar in the least league game on Thursday. Hong Kong are ahead of Thailand on net run rate as the two teams were tied on points.

Nepal once again dominated with their bowling on Tuesday reducing Hong Kong to 45-7 in 24.4 overs. Hong Kong struggled from the outset once they lost opener Tej Narain Sheopuri (duck) in the first over to Pratish GC. No 3 batsman Kalhan Challu top scored for them from the middle order with a 32-ball 16 that included two boundaries.

Loniya then struck with consecutive dismissals of Adit Gorawara (seven) and Nasrulla Rana (duck) as Hong Kong’s innings began to crumble. Aarush Bhagwat (12) managed to reach double figures before falling prey to Nikhil Kumar Singh. Aryan Sharad Shetty and Mohammad Hassan (two) spared Hong Kong blushes sharing a 35-run partnership for the eighth wicket. Shetty was the lone fighter scoring 24 from 39 deliveries with two sixes and a boundary.

GC was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 3-15 from seven overs. Narayan Joshi, who had returned with a five-wicket haul on Monday, also claimed a wicket.

Nepal didn’t have the best of the starts as they lost their first four wickets for just 34 runs. Opener Kushal Malla (two), Bishal Bikram KC (11), skipper Rit Gautam (duck) and Joshi (two) lost their wickets cheaply. Trit Raj Das, Monday’s top scorer against Thailand, held the innings with another opener Rajan Magar and Sunil Bhandari (11 not out) to help Nepal cross the finish line.

Das top scored with 27 from 46 deliveries with three boundaries and Magar chipped in 17 from 43 balls with a boundary. Rana took 3-11 from seven overs to leave Nepal struggling in their chase. Loniya was adjudged man-of-the-match for his extra-ordinary bowling effort.

In other matches on Tuesday, Thailand defeated Myanmar by six wickets, while in Group ‘B’ Malaysia saw off China by six runs and Singapore sidelined Bhutan by seven wickets.

Summary

Nepal 84-6 in 24.1 overs (TR Das 27, R Magar 17; N Rana 3-11, H Mohammad 1-16) beat Hong Kong 82-9 in 35 overs (A Shetty 24, K Challu 16; P GC 3-15, AK Loniya 2-2) by four wickets

Man-of-the-match: AK Loniya (NEP)