Malaysia and Nepal claim last semi-final places

Victories in the last round of group matches for Malaysia and Nepal sees them join Afghanistan and UAE in the last four of the ACC Trophy Elite in the Emirates.

Malayasia thrashed Bhutan by eight wickets in Group A to secure runners-up spot below unbeaten Afghanistan. Bhutan were dismissed for just 84 after being put into bat. The batting side seemed likely to post an even smaller total until last man Barun Wakhley top-scored with 19. Aminuddin Ramly took 3-16 while Anwar Rahman followed up with 4-29. Malaysia lost both openers with 30 on the board but Ahmed Faiz (37 not out) and Suhan Kumar (10 not out) then added an unbeaten 58 for the third wicket.

Oman secured third place in Group A when they defeated Maldives by 123 runs after recovering from 121-6 to reach 225-6 at the end of their 50 overs. Sultan Ahmed (43 not out) and Amir Ali (54 not out) gave their team something to bowl at after Moosa Kaleem (3-19) had rocked the batting side. Maldives never recovered after collapsing to 2-3 in the reply, eventually being dismissed for 102 in 26 overs. Skipper Kaleem top-scored with 34 but no other batsman surpassed 17. Khalid Rasheed (4-34) and Zeeshan Siddiqui (3-12) were the pick of the Oman bowlers.

Nepal finished top of Group B - ahead of UAE on head-to-head - following a crushing victory over Hong Kong in a match to decide the second semi-final place. Nepal captain Paras Khadka continued his fine tournament with 61 not as his side posted 225-7. Khadka carried on his good work in the reply, taking 2-8 in six overs as Hong Kong?s run-chase never caught fire. Amrit Bhattarai (3-26) and Basanta Regmi (3-20) were the other main destroyers with the ball as Hong Kong folded to 100 all out in 37 overs.

Kuwait ensured Saudi Arabia finished without a win in Group B when they defeated them by 143 runs. Irfan Bhatti (64 off 56 balls) and Abid Mushtaq (38 off 29 balls) built a strong platform with a first-wicket stand of 92 in 11 overs. Kashif Sharif (46) and Mohammad Amin (59) carried on the onslaught with good support elsewhere. Saudi Arabia were bowled out for 175 in their reply with Ali Shahzad (4-25) and Hisham Mirza (3-10) to the fore with the ball. Mohammad Afzal (40) top-scored for Saudi Arabia but the last five wickets fell for 12 runs as the run-rate escalated.

Afghanistan will play UAE and Nepal take on Malaysia in Wednesday?s semi-finals.