Nasir century leads hosts to semifinal

Nepal made early inroads after deciding to bowl first as they reduced Bangladesh to 33 for four, but Nasir Hossain stood tall with an unbeaten hundred to confirm Bangladesh's semifinal spot in the Max Emerging Teams Asia Cup at the Sheikh Kamal International Stadium in Cox's Bazar yesterday.

Avinash Karn instigated the early collapse in the Bangladesh innings by taking three wickets, before Nasir and skipper Mominul Haque took away the initiatives by stitching together a 78-run fifth-wicket stand to set a 258-run target.

Rahatul Ferdous and Mohammad Saifuddin then took the charge and wrapped up Nepal's innings for 174 to ensure the 83-run victory which saw the hosts qualify for the semifinal from Group B.

Nasir is looking to get his place in the national side back and his unbeaten 109 off 115 balls, which contained 12 fours and two sixes, will definitely serve his purpose.

"When we lost early wickets, Mominul and I planned not to force runs. Instead we played at ease to repair the damage. I enjoyed my batting when my team were in trouble and am happy that I could contribute. There was nothing wrong with the pitch but Nepal bowled in the right areas," said Nasir.

"We have been playing this tournament with a plan and that's why our next target is to beat Pakistan, who are a very strong side," he added.

Pakistan also confirmed a semifinal spot from Group B after a thumping 248-run win against Hong Kong yesterday, courtesy of centuries from Imam-ul-Haq (120) and Imran Butt (108), and a seven-wicket haul by Usama Mir.

Bangladesh and Pakistan will face-off in the last group match at the same venue tomorrow.

Back to the Bangladesh match, the hosts lost Azmir Ahmed, Saif Hasan and Mohammad Mithun with the score on 15, before the departure of Nazmul Hasan saw the hosts tottering at 33 for four.

However Mominul and Nasir batted sensibly before Sandeep Lamichhane got rid of the former, who scored 61 off 78 balls and smashed seven fours.

Then a 76-run ninth-wicket stand between Nasir and Abul Hasan (29) ensured that the hosts put a challenging total up on the board.

After the exchange, Nepal also made a disastrous start as they lost three wickets for 16, but Dilip Nath and Dipendra Singh Airee brought their team in contention by adding 98 runs for the fourth wicket.

Rahatul broke the partnership, removing Dilip for 41, and then took three more wickets to ensure an easy win for his team.

India also won their second match yesterday to romp into the semifinal from Group A as they beat Malaysia by seven wickets, while Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 35 runs in the other match.