Pakistan, Sept. 25 -- Nepal, Hong Kong, China claimed important Asian Games cricket victories on Friday to strengthen their tournament campaigns. Nepal defeated Afghanistan by five wickets after restricting them to 102, while Hong Kong, China beat Oman by 41 runs. The results kept both teams in contention for places in the quarter-finals.

Afghanistan struggled early after choosing to bat first, losing their top three batters for single-digit scores. Faisal Shinozada then steadied the innings with 30 from 33 balls alongside Najibullah Zadran. Their 39-run partnership briefly lifted Afghanistan before another collapse reduced them to 65-6.

Zadran remained firm and scored 30, while Nangeyalia Kharote contributed 17 before Afghanistan lost ...