Kathmandu, Oct 10: Nepal defeated Japan to advance to the Super Six stage as Group B winners in the ICC T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia-Pacific Qualifiers.
In the final Group B match held today at the Oman Cricket Academy Turf-1 in Al Amerat, Oman, Nepal registered a five-wicket victory over Japan.
With back-to-back wins, Nepal secured four points from two matches, finishing as group champion. Despite the loss, Japan also progressed to the Super Six as group runners-up with two points from two games.
As group winners, Nepal will carry an additional 2 points into the Super Six stage. Nepal is scheduled to play against the winner of Group ‘A’ (UAE) on Sunday and against Qatar on Monday. After that, Nepal will face the winner and runner-up of Group ‘C’ in its remaining two matches. The top three teams from the Super Six stage will qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be held in India in February–March.
Chasing a modest target of 132 runs set by Japan, Nepal reached the total in 18 overs, losing five wickets. Aasif Sheikh top-scored with 38 runs, followed by Gulshan Jha, who remained unbeaten on 28. Kushal Bhurtel scored 21 runs, captain Rohit Kumar Paudel made 18, and Dipendra Singh Airee remained not out on 14.
For Japan, Shoma Sugaya-Slater took two wickets, while Sabaorish Ravichandran and Declan Suzuki McComb claimed one wicket each.
Earlier, batting first after losing the toss, Japan posted 131 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs. Captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming led from the front with 60 runs off 46 balls, including five fours and three sixes. Esam Rahman added 31 runs, and Benjamin Ito-Davis scored 17.
For Nepal, Gulshan Jha and Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets each, while Sompal Kami and Nandan Yadav claimed one wicket apiece. #nepal #cricket
