Thursday 10 / September / 2026
MUSCAT: Oman will have an opportunity to salvage something from their ACC Men’s Premier Cup campaign when they take on Hong Kong in the third-place playoff after a disastrous batting collapse condemned them to an 87-run defeat against Nepal in the semi-finals in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
A victory over Hong Kong on Saturday will give Oman a third-place finish and, more importantly, secure their place in the ACC Rising Stars Asia Cup.
For captain Vinayak Shukla and his side, the third-place playoff has become a crucial opportunity to put behind them a painful semi-final in which the bowlers did their job but the batters floundered yet again.
After winning the toss and electing to field at the Bayuemas Cricket Oval, Oman produced an impressive bowling performance to dismiss Nepal for 147 in 45.4 overs.
But chasing a modest target, Oman collapsed to 60 all out in 28.1 overs — their lowest ODI total, bettering their previous low of 65 against the USA.
The defeat was Oman's third successive loss in the tournament, following group-stage defeats to Kuwait and the UAE.
The manner of the latest loss will be particularly disappointing as the bowlers had given Oman a strong platform by keeping Nepal to a low total.
Oman struck early as Muhammed Imran dismissed Aasif Sheikh for 11 and Dev Khanal for 13, while Jay Odedra removed Ishan Pandey for one.
Hassnain Shah then trapped Nepal captain Rohit Paudel leg-before for three as Nepal slumped to 36 for four in 11.2 overs.
Nepal, however, found a way back through Dipendra Singh Airee and Basir Ahamad.
The pair added 93 runs for the fifth wicket, taking Nepal from 36 for four to 129.
Basir made 47 from 88 balls, hitting three fours and a six, while Airee scored 51 from 76 deliveries with four boundaries.
Once the partnership was broken, however, Oman regained control and Nepal lost their final six wickets for just 18 runs to be bowled out for 147 in 45.4 overs.
Odedra was the pick of the Oman bowlers with three for 26 from 10 overs, while Shah claimed three for 28.
Imran took two for 26, while Shakeel Ahmed and Mujibur Ali picked up one wicket each.
Record-low collapse
Chasing a modest target on a spin-friendly pitch, Oman’s batting unravelled from the outset.
Lalit Rajbanshi struck in the opening over, dismissing Hasnain Ul Wahab for a two-ball duck.
He added the wicket of Karan Sonavale for three as Oman slipped to nine for two.
Experienced Jatinder Singh attempted to provide some resistance, top-scoring for Oman with 25 from 41 balls, including two fours. However, wickets continued to fall at the other end.
Hammad Mirza made five from 42 balls before falling to Sandeep Lamichhane, while Jiten Ramanandi was the only other Oman batter to reach double figures, scoring 13 from 42 deliveries.
Lamichhane dismissed Jatinder as Oman slipped to 43 for four, before Airee removed captain Shukla for one.
Rohit Paudel then dismissed Mujibur Ali for one, while Lamichhane trapped Jay Odedra leg-before for four as Oman fell to 50 for seven.
There was no recovery. Airee dismissed Shakeel Ahmed and Hassnain Shah to complete his three-wicket haul, while Paudel took the final wicket of Ramanandi as Oman were bowled out for a paltry 60 in 28.1 overs.
Lamichhane returned exceptional figures of three for nine from six overs, while Airee capped his half-century with three for 11. Rajbanshi took two for 12 and Paudel two for seven.
The result sent Nepal into the final against the UAE, while Oman must now turn their attention to Hong Kong. The tournament champions will qualify for the big-ticket 2027 Asia Cup.
Brief scores: Nepal 147 all out in 45.4 overs (Dipendra Singh Airee 51, Basir Ahamad 47; Jay Odedra 3/26, Hassnain Shah 3/28) beat Oman 60 all out in 28.1 overs (Jatinder Singh 25, Jiten Ramanandi 13; Sandeep Lamichhane 3/9, Dipendra Singh Airee 3/11) by 87 runs.
