Asiad cricket: Nepal beat Afghanistan by 5 wickets

Nepal defeated Afghanistan by 5 wickets in men's cricket at the ongoing 20th Asian Games in Japan.

In the Group A match played at Korogi Sports Park in Nishin, Aichi on Friday, Afghanistan won the toss, batted first and scored 102 for 7 in 20 overs.

Nepal's Kushal Bhurtel took 4 wickets, while Lalit Rajbanshi claimed 3.

Afghanistan's Faisal Khan and Najibullah Zadran contributed 30 runs each.

In reply, Nepal reached the target after losing 5 wickets in just 17.2 overs.

Sandeep Jora top-scored with 34 runs off 35 balls, while Rohit Paudel remained unbeaten on 33.

Dipendra Singh Airee contributed 15 runs, while opener Kushal Bhurtel was out for a duck.

Captain Airee said the team is aiming for a medal and kept the opposition under pressure from the start.

Afghanistan had earlier beaten hosts Japan by 48 runs.

Following this result, both Nepal and Afghanistan have 2 points each in the group.

Nepal will play their final group match against Japan on Saturday.

The top 2 teams in the group will advance to the quarterfinals.

If Nepal reach the quarterfinals, they will face either India or Sri Lanka.

Ten teams are taking part in men's cricket at this year's Asian Games.