Nepal committed spotkick suicide and were ousted by Sri Lanka 5-3 on penalties after regular time and extra time ended in a 1-1 stalemate in the first semifinal of the AFC Challenge Cup here on Wednesday.

Sri Lankan players celebrate after their semifinal triumph against Nepal.

Nepal's hero so far in the tournament Pradeep Maharjan was the most to blame after flunking two shots from the spot. It was clear that Wednesday was not going to be Maharjan's day after the normally accurate hitman missed his first penalty in the second half after sri lankan goalkeeper Sugath Thilakarathne had hacked down Nepal’s Basanta Thapa inside the area in the 63rd minute.

Maharjan's cup of woes overflowed when he again missed from the spot in the tiebreaking shootout. Sri Lanka’s Jeewantha Dhammika Ratnayaka slammed his side’s last penalty into the net sparking scenes of jubilation around the stadium.

Kamaldeen Fuard, Chathura Madurange Weerasingha, Chathura Gunarathna and Ediribandanage Channa also converted their penalties while K C Anjan, Tashi Tsering and Nabin Neupane were on target for Nepal.

In the regulation period, Sri Lanka’s Weerarathna Jayasuriya put his team ahead in the 65th minute on a freekick from Mohamed Izzadeen while Basanta Thapa restored the parity on a Bijay Gurung pass in the 84th minute.

Nepal lost many goalscoring chances in the first half with captain Basanta Thapa being the main culprit missing three pportunities. He got a chance in the fourth minute on a counter-attack when Maharjan supplied him the ball inside the area but Thapa was off the mark. Three minutes later, he had only Sri Lankan goalkeeper Thilakarathne to beat but his header went wide.

Thapa also failed to connect an easy cross in the 21st minute.

Sri Lankan Channa’s shot in the 29th minute was pouched by Nepal custodian Bikash Malla and his teammate Izzadeen’s header sailed over the bar in the 35th minute.

Sri Lankan coach Sampath Perera expressed his happiness saying, “It was a lucky day for us. Our players have proved that we are one of the best sides in the tournament. They have worked very hard and implemented the strategy on the field properly.”

“I am confident of winning the title now and I have full faith in my players that they will earn success for the country.”

Nepal coach Shyam Thapa said: “Maharjan is the best penalty shooter of our team and he missed twice in a crucial game today. It was a bad day for him and our team. My players worked very hard and I am satisfied with their show today.”

Sri Lanka will now travel to Dhaka to play the winner of the second semi-final between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to be played on Thursday.

The final will be played on April 16.