The Orange Lions made sure of their place in the play-offs, and all but sure of second position in their group, with a comfortable victory over Nepal at the Global Cricket Academy on Monday.

If the bowlers had underperformed against Papua New Guinea on Sunday they were right on the button here after Peter Borren won the toss and elected to bowl, and once Michael Swart and Mudassar Bukhari had grabbed three wickets in the space of the first four overs at a cost of just 10 runs, the Dutch had gained an ascendancy which they never surrendered.

Swart struck first when he had Pradeep Airee caught by Pieter Seelaar, Bukhari trapped Sharad Vesawkar in front in the next over, and then Swart removed Nepalese skipper Paras Khadka in the same way in the next.

Only Anil Mandal of the top order managed to reach double figures, but when Peter Borren bowled him for 11 the ninth over was already in progress, and the Nepalese total had only reached 17.

That became 25 for five when Tom Cooper bowled Mahaboob Alam in the eleventh, and for a while a total below 50 seemed on the cards.

But Gyanandra Malla now took matters in hand, and although he lost Prithu Baskota run out to a smart piece of fielding by Borren at extra cover, he and Basant Regmi came together in a seventh-wicket stand of 36, the highest of the innings.

Once again there was a flurry of runs towards the end: twelve came from Borren's final over, the 18th of the innings, and 17 from the next as Malla and Regmi went after Ashan Malik Jamil. Until then Nepal had managed just one four, a fine edge in the opening over; now they smacked five in just eleven balls.

This progress by Nepal was halted by Bukhari, who ran Malla out off his own bowling from the first delivery of the final over, and only four more were added to leave the Nepalese total on a disappointing 85 for seven. The Nepalese wicketkeeper had made 32 from 49 deliveries, with just two boundaries.

The Dutch bowlers, however, could be well pleased with their morning's work: Swart had two for 13 from his four overs and Bukhari one for 9, while Borren (one for 14), Seelaar (none for 14) and Cooper (one for 9) all played their part in tightening the screw on the Nepalese batting. Jamil, too, kept the runs down in his first two overs, only taking serious punishment in his third.

It did not seem probable that Nepal would be able to defend such a low total, but they were able to prevent the Dutch batsmen from running riot, and they picked up four wickets before the target was reached in the 14th over.

Myburgh began with characteristic aggression, hitting Sanjam Regmi for a straight six and a four over wide mid-on, but in the fifth over he tried to make room to cut Shakti Gauchan, the tournament's leading wicket-taker, and was bowled.

Wesley Barresi, promoted to first wicket down, made 14 before he was stumped, the first of three victims for Basant Regmi, and Swart and Alexei Kervezee followed, the latter showing fine footwork against the spinners before he hit a simple return catch.

Cooper, however, remained at the other end, and he and Borren took no unnecessary risks in completing the task. Regmi finished with three for 32, Cooper ended on 18 not out, and Swart claimed his third Man of the Match award for his economical spin bowling and a solid innings of 16.

The Dutch travel to Sharjah on Tuesday to take on Hong Kong in their final group game, but it would take a dramatic reversal of fortune to deny them second place in their group and a probable encounter with Scotland on Thursday.