Kathmandu: A half-century from opener Kushal Bhurtel helped Nepal set a 152-run target against hosts Oman in their penultimate match of the ICC World T20 Qualifiers at Ministry Turf 1 of Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman on Monday.

With both teams having already secured qualification for next year’s World T20 finals, Nepal opted to bat first and posted 151-9, thanks to Bhurtel’s fluent 69.

He struck seven boundaries and a six in his 50-ball innings to register his second half-century of the Qualifiers, following his 66 against Kuwait in the opening match. He was dismissed in the 18th over as the sixth wicket.

Bhurtel shared a 61-run opening stand with Aasif Sheikh, who made 24 off 20 balls including two fours and a six. However, Nepal then suffered a middle-order collapse, losing skipper Rohit Paudel (1), Dipendra Singh Airee (2) and Kushal Malla (7) cheaply to slump to 81-4.

Adil Ansari contributed 16 off 15 balls, including three boundaries and added 40 runs for the fifth wicket with Bhurtel. As in previous games, Gulshan Jha played a stunning cameo, scoring 18 off 10 balls with two sixes.

Nadeem Khan starred with the ball for Oman, taking 4-20 from his four overs. He was well supported by Sufyan Mehmood and Jitenkumar Ramanandi, who claimed two wickets each.