Nepal on Saturday secured the 2023 ACC men’s U-19 Asia Cup berth as they thrashed Japan by 144 runs in the semifinals of the ACC Men’s U-19 Premier Cup played in Malaysia.

In a rain-hit match played at the Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur, Japan received 187 runs target in 22 overs based on the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method. Nepal were at 140 runs at the loss of two wickets in 25 overs when it rained.

In the run chase, Japan lost all wickets for 43 runs in 11.5 overs.

Hemant Dhami and Dipesh Kandel grabbed three wickets as Subash Bhandari chipped in with two wickets.

Deepak Bohara made 79 runs off 70 balls with ten fours and two sixes as Aakash Tripathi contributed an unbeaten 35 runs. Kazuma Kato Stafford and Kiefer Yamamoto Lake of Japan took a wicket apiece.

Nepal had progressed to the semi-finals as Group A winners with three wins in as many matches. The United Arab Emirates and Singapore also advanced into the last four after winning Group B and Group C respectively.

A total of 16 teams—divided into four groups—are competing in the third edition of the U-19 Asia Cup qualifying event.

The top three teams of the tournament will join five full members of the Asian Cricket Council, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, at the 2023 ACC men’s U-19 Asia Cup finals, which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan in December.

Nepal national U-19 team have already qualified for the 2024 Cricket World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka on January 13-February 4 next year.