Kathmandu, March 11

After three consecutive defeats, Nepal now need to beat Hong Kong by 218 runs or under 8.2 overs in the last match of Group B to advance to the Super Six stage of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers at the Bulawayo Athletic Club in Zimbabwe on Monday.

Nepal suffered a 116-run defeat against hosts Zimbabwe, went down to Scotland by four wickets before facing a six-wicket loss against Afghanistan. As Zimbabwe and Scotland have already entered the Super Six from Group B after accumulating six points each, one of the three teams — Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Nepal — will fight it our for the remaining one slot.

Afghanistan, who have already played four matches, and Hong are tied on two points. Afghanistan (+0.038) are ahead of Hong Kong (-1.246) in run rate, while Nepal — who are yet to taste victory in Zimbabwe — have negative (-1.546) run rate.

According to umpire Binay Kumar Jha, Nepal need to beat Hong Kong by a margin of at least 218 runs or achieve the target within 8.2 overs, if they are to surpass Afghanistan in net run rate. “It will be very difficult to beat Hong Kong by that margin or chase down the target within 8.2 overs,” said Jha. “Anything less than that will see Afghanistan through to the Super Six.” On the other hand, Hong Kong can earn berth with a victory over Nepal.

If Nepal take berth in the Super Six stage, they will secure One Day International status for the next four years, while the loss against Hong Kong will make it more difficult for them as the outcome of other matches will decide the fate of the teams.

So far, Nepal and Hong Kong have played 11 matches in limited overs format, including two List A matches. Nepal have won six and lost five matches. However, Hong Kong have upper hand in List A matches as they won both previous encounters — by 10 runs in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in 2014 in New Zealand and by 83 runs in the ICC World Cricket League Championship.