Nepal qualifies for T20 World Cup 2014

Kathmandu: Nepal qualified for their first ICC Twenty20 World Cup after beating Hong Kong by five wickets Wednesday in a qualifying match, at the the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

In a nail-biting finish, Nepal scored the winning runs in the final over of the match after Hong Kong had scored 143 for eight. Nepal went into the final over needing 13 to win and Sharad Vesawkar hit a six followed by an inside-edged four through fine leg. With scores level, Vesawkar, then pierced a packed ring through extra cover to send Nepal through to Bangladesh for the 2014 tournament. Skipper Paras Khadka chipped in with 46 off 39 balls and Gyanendra Malla`s 30 off 27 helped Nepal qualify for their first ICC event. The win also took Nepal to the semi-final of the qualifying tournament where they will meet Afghanistan. Earlier, after being put into bat, a quick-fire 25 by Tanwir Afzal propelled Hong Kong to 143. Waqas Barkat and Nizakat Khan chipped in with 25 runs each. Jitendra Mukhiya, who narrowly missed out on a hat-trick, was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking three wickets.