Kathmandu, July 1

Sri Lankan Lions defeated Nepal Storm by 12 runs to enter the final of the Asian Club Premier League here at the Tribhuvan University Stadium today.

In the Qualifier1 match, the Lions posted 137-7 in their allotted 20 overs before the Storm were packed for 161 runs in 17.5 overs.

Nishan Samarakkody top scored for Lions with 52 off 48 balls, while Dinesh Nakrani scored 27-ball 40. Malintha (19) and Vaibhav Arora (13 not out) also scored in double figures for Lions. Gaurav Barabade (2-35) Ashish Bisht (2-34) and Dishant Yadav (2-21) shared six wickets among them for Storm, while Jitender Sharma took one wicket.

In reply, Jitender Sharma scored an unbeaten 42 off just 23 balls for Storm and Dishant Yadav scored 36 off 30 balls. Bhupendra Thapa scored 25 off 26 balls, while Gaurav Barabade (10) was the only other batsman who scored in double figures for Storms.

Karan (3-21) Walia and Akash Goutel (3-54) shared six wickets between them for the Lions, while Vaibhav Arora took 2-20. Nishan Samarakkody and Shubhanshu Sahu pocketed one wicket apiece.

In the Eliminator match, Dubai Warriors defeated Bangladesh Tigers by three wickets and will face Nepal Storm in the Qualifier2 match. Batting first, the Tigers were bowled out for 186 runs in 20 overs before the Warriors reached 189-7 with one ball to spare.

The Tigers’ innings revolved around Sanjog Binkar’s 92 off just 61 balls as he got little support from his teammates. Vicky Chauhan (16) and Pawan Kumar (15 not out) were the only other two batsmen who scored in double digits for the Tigers.

Malik was the pick of the Warriors bowlers taking 3-32 from four overs, while Orminer Singh, Amit Kumar, Satish Kumar, Vijay Yadav and Deepak Arora took one wicket each.

In reply, Dawood Ejaz scored a blistering half century to guide the Warriors to victory. Ejaz scored 70 off just 40 balls, while Kalish Midha contributed 19-ball 22. Amit Kumar (17), Abdul Shakoor (15), Orminder Singh (14 not out) and Ali Malik (13) chipped in with valuable runs for the Warriors.

Qwazi Zeeshan Ahmed and Sanket Sahu took two wickets for the Tigers, while Pawan Kumar and Chandan Sharma claimed one apiece. The Qualifier2 match is slated for Sunday, while the final match is on Tuesday.