Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane ran riot during his team’s ACC Premier Cup match against Hong Kong in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
At the time of writing, Hong Kong were 215/7 in the 48th over, with Lamichhane having finished with figures of 4/44 from his 10 overs.
Lamichhane entered the attack after Nepal’s opening bowlers had removed Anshuman Rath and Zeeshan Ali. Sher Malla dismissed both Hong Kong openers, while Babar Hayat remained at the crease as Hong Kong looked to rebuild their innings.
Lamichhane claimed his first wicket when Kalhan Challu was dismissed for nine from 12 deliveries. Challu, who had hit one four, was bowled by Lamichhane in the 15th over.
The wicket came with Hong Kong on 64/4, ending Challu’s short partnership with Hayat and giving Lamichhane his first breakthrough of the innings.
The leg-spinner struck again when Kinchit Shah was dismissed for a duck. Shah faced two deliveries before being stumped by Nepal wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh off Lamichhane’s bowling.
Shah’s dismissal came at the end of the 12th over, with Hong Kong on 52/3 according to the fall-of-wickets record. Lamichhane’s delivery brought Shah out of his crease, allowing Sheikh to complete the stumping.
Lamichhane completes his four-wicket haul
Lamichhane then accounted for Hong Kong captain Yasim Murtaza. The right-handed batter made five from 13 balls before being caught by Dev Khanal off Lamichhane in the 19th over.
Murtaza’s dismissal came with the score on 80/5. He had faced 13 deliveries without hitting a boundary before his innings came to an end.
Lamichhane completed his four-wicket haul by dismissing Aizaz Khan leg before wicket in the 31st over. Aizaz scored nine from 15 balls, including one four, before being given out lbw.
His dismissal came with Hong Kong on 133/7 and was Lamichhane’s final wicket of the innings. He completed his 10-over spell without adding another wicket.
The 26-year-old has also taken wickets consistently in Nepal’s previous matches in the tournament. He recorded figures of 5/14 against Bahrain before taking 1/22 against Malaysia. He followed that with 3/19 against Saudi Arabia.