Kathmandu: Qatar set a challenging total of 151-5 in the opening match of the Quadrangular Twenty20I Series in Hong Kong, after being put into bat by Nepal.

Captain Ikramullah Khan led from the front with a well-paced 54 off 54 balls to anchor the innings. He was later dismissed by T20I debutant Nandan Yadav.

Qatar had an early stutter, losing openers Rifayi Theruvath (6) and Arumugaganesh Nagarajan (13) cheaply within the first five overs.

However, a 47-run partnership between Ikramullah and Shahzaib Jamil (31 off 21) steadied  the innings. Jamil cracked four sixes.

Later contributions from Mujeeb-ur-Rehman (not out 20 off 19) and Mohammed Irshad (not out 18 off 7) gave Qatar the late flourish they needed, adding quick runs to push the total past the 150-run mark.

For Nepal debutant Nanda Yadav, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha and Lalit Rajbanshi each chipped in with a wicket apiece.