A narrow three run win over Namibia has kept hosts Nepal in the hunt for a place in the final of the ongoing T20I tri-series they are hosting.

Put into bat by stand-in Namibian captain JJ Smit, Nepal lost Aasif Shiekh early in their reply, and it wasn't until the fifth wicket pairing of Aarif Sheikh and Kushal Malla that they put on a significant partnership. The pairing put on 83 before Sheikh fell for 31.

Malla batted out the rest of the innings, finishing unbeaten on 55 from 37 balls. Nepal's final total was 180-8, with Ben Shkongo the pick of Namibia's bowlers, taking 3-28.

Namibia's reply progressed in similar fashion, with an 83 run partnership between Jan Frylinck and JJ Smit - the latter clubbing 50 from just 26 balls - was a key part of their response.

With Namibia needing 12 from the final over, Karan KC conceded three singles and a wide from the first four ballsl. He then had Ruben Trumpelmann caught from the penultimate delivery, meaning that the four hit from the final ball wasn't enough, and Nepal won by three runs.

Nepal are back in action straight away when they play Netherlands tomorrow, with Namibia's last round-robin match coming on Sunday, also against the Dutch.