ACC trophy preview: Nepal eye early semi-final berth

Kuala Lumpur, July 27:

Nepal hope to book an early semi-final berth by beating Singapore in their third match of the ACC Trophy Elite Cup on Monday.

Nepal are on top of their group with two wins in as many matches and a win at the Kinrara Oval on Monday would ensure a spot in the last four. Though Nepal have not played against Singapore in the one-day form of the game, the Nepali camp is confident of registering a win. Nepal have beaten Singapore in the three-day matches. Nepal’s run in the tournament has been impressive so far. They defeated Hong Kong by 44 runs on Friday and registered a seven-wicket victory against Qatar on Friday. Singapore have won one and lost one match so far.

Nepal’s coach Roy Luke Dias said he was not going to take Singapore lightly. “We have won both the previous matches, but we are not taking any team lightly,” he said. “Taking Singapore lightly is foolish.”

Asked about the team combination, Dias said he would finalise the team only after inspecting the pitch and the conditions. “We need to play cautiously as we are favourites to win the tournament and we also have a balanced side to lift the trophy,” said Dias.

Skipper Binod Das was also hopeful of the win and said the team needed to perform well in all the departments.