Afghanistan scraped into the Super Six Stage of the ICC World Cup Qualifier after Nepal defeated Hong Kong by five wickets in Bulawayo on Monday.

In their Group B clash, Hong Kong were bowled out for 153 in 48.2 overs with mystery spinner Sandeep Lamichhane finishing with superb figures of 3-17 from his 10 overs.

In reply, Nepal were in deep trouble at 66-5. Lower order batsmen Rohit Kumar (48) and Sompal Kami (37) shared an unbeaten 89-run partnership to clinch a consolation win for Nepal, who exited the Qualifier with three defeats and one win.

Afghanistan, pre-tournament favourites but with just one win from four matches, were tied on two points along with Nepal and Hong Kong. However, they made the cut for the Super Six stage as they are the only team among the three with a positive net run rate (0.038).

The road ahead will only get tougher as Afghanistan won’t carry any points into the Super Six stage. The top two teams in the World Cup Qualifier qualify for the 2019 World Cup.