Nepal enter QF after 75-run win

GUANGZHOU, Nov 22: Nepal defeated Maldives by 75 runs in men´s cricket at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou on Monday to confirm a berth in the quarterfinals.



Although Nepal lost to Hong Kong by 30 runs on Sunday, the huge victory over Maldives improved Nepal´s net run rate. Now, regardless of the result of the match between Hong Kong and Maldives, Nepal are assured of one of the top two spots in their group.[break]



If Hong Kong defeat Maldives, Nepal will finish as group runners-up and face Sri Lanka in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The group winners will play against Afghanistan. If Maldives defeat Hong Kong, then run rate will come into play.



On Monday, Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first. Binod Bhandari impressed this time as opener, topscoring with 32 runs. Paras Khadka (25) also helped Nepal reach a defendable total of 129/9 in the allotted 20 overs.



Maldivian bowlers restricted the run flow in the last 10 overs after Nepal had scored 71/3 in the first 10. Basanta Regmi (15), Sharad Vesawkar (14), Mahesh Chhetri (10) and debutante Prithu Baskota (9) contributed to the total.



Hassan Ibrahim, Rasheed Jilwaz and Mihusan Hamid each grabbed two wickets for Maldives.



Maldives failed to match the batting against Nepali bowling. Apart from the 23-run partnership for the second wicket between Shafraz Jaleel (13) and Ahmed Hassan (11), there were no other significant contributions. Maldives could only manage 54/8.



Spinner Rahul Vishwakarma claimed three wickets while Prithu Baskota got two wickets for Nepal. Baskota, 18, got the opportunity to make his debut after another pacer Amrit Bhattarai faced some minor health concerns.



Sri Lankan coach of the Nepali team Roy Luke Dias is excited since his boys will be taking on his compatriots in the quarterfinal. "The match against Sri Lanka is an opportunity for us. It is cricket, and we have an equal chance of winning the match and making history," said Dias.



Nepali captain Paras Khadka said they won the match against Maldives with an improved performance in comparison to the match against Hong Kong. "Young boys like Binod Bhandari and Prithu Baskota played a good game today (Monday)," said the skipper.



Coach Dias, however, said that the Nepali team could not put up an expected total despite improved performance in batting. "We should improve more to win the upcoming match," said Dias.

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