Sandeep Lamichhane marked his return as Nepal captain with a five-wicket haul as Nepal crushed Bahrain by seven wickets in their opening match of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup on Monday.

Sent in to bat after losing the toss at the YSD UKM Cricket Oval in Bangi, Malaysia, Bahrain were bowled out for 87 in 36.2 overs. Nepal chased down the target in just 21 overs.

Arjun Kumal top-scored for Nepal with an unbeaten 36, while former captain Rohit Paudel remained not out on 19. Kumal faced 58 balls and struck five fours. Paudel hit one four and one six in his 14-ball innings.

Aasif Sheikh made 18 before being dismissed by Imran Javed Anwar. He faced 25 balls and hit two fours and a six. Dev Khanal was out for 10, caught near the boundary off Anwar, while Ishan Pandey was run out for one.

Nepal's bowlers had Bahrain under pressure from the outset. Lamichhane, who reclaimed the captaincy from Rohit Paudel, produced a superb spell of 10 overs, including four maidens, conceding just 14 runs while taking five wickets.

He struck with his very first delivery, bowling Ahmer bin Nasir for two in the 13th over.

Opening bowler Karan KC also struck twice early to put Bahrain on the back foot. He bowled Bahrain captain Asif Ali for four before dismissing Fiaz Ahmed for 15. Ahmed was Bahrain's top scorer, making his runs from 15 balls with two fours and a six.

Lamichhane and Lalit Rajbanshi then ripped through Bahrain's middle and lower order. Apart from Ahmed, only Muhammad Wasim and Ali Dawood, who came in at No. 11, managed to reach double figures.

Wasim made 13 from 27 balls, hitting one four, before Rajbanshi bowled him. Dawood, who also struck a six off Dipendra Singh Airee, scored 10 and shared a 20-run last-wicket stand with Abdul Majid Abbasi.

Rajbanshi eventually dismissed Dawood to finish with three wickets. He conceded 20 runs from 6.2 overs, including one maiden. KC returned figures of 2-14 from eight overs, with four maidens.