Nepal has advanced into the Super Six of the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia Pacific Qualifiers.
Nepal book berth in the Super Six by defeating Japan by 5 wickets in the T20 World Cup Qualifiers held in Oman.
Nepal chased down the 132-run target set by the opponent for 5 wickets in 18 overs.
Aasif Sheikh topped the score with 38 runs including 1 four and 4 sixes off 21 deliveries followed by Gulsan Jha with 28 runs. Jha hit 1 four and 2 sixes off 20 deliveries. Similarly, Kushal Bhurtel, captain Rohit Paudel and Depeendra Singh Airee contributed 21, 18 and 14 runs, respectively. The other batsmen could not reach double-digit runs.
On the bowling side, Shoma Slater took 2 wickets giving away 22 runs while Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Sabaorish Ravichandra, and Declan Suzuki-McComb grabbed 1 wicket each for Japan.
Despite losing today's match, Japan also entered the Super Six, but they will begin the stage with no points. With their second consecutive win, Nepal has reached the Super Six as Group B winner, while Japan join them as runner-up.
From Group A, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar have already secured their places in the Super Six. The teams advancing to the Super Six from Group C are yet to be decided.
In the Super Six, Nepal will play against four teams: the ones coming from Group A and Group C, excluding Japan. The top three teams in the Super Six will qualify for next year's T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.
Earlier, invited to bat first after losing the toss at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground Oman Cricket on Friday, Japan notched up 131 runs losing 8 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming topped the score with 60 runs including 5 fours and 3 sixes off 46 deliveries followed by Abhishek Anand with 31 runs while Benjamin Ito-Davis contributed 17 runs.
The other batsmen could not achieve double-digit runs.
In reply, Deependra Singh Airee and Gulsan Jha took 2 wickets each giving away 25 and 20 runs, respectively. Similarly, Sompal Kami and Nandan Yadav claimed 1 wicket each for Nepal.
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