Nepal sail into last four 9 April 2006 Nepal's Pradeep Maharjan (left) celebrate after scoring his second goal against India with his teammate Raju Tamang during the AFC Challenge Cup quarter-final in Chittagong. Photo by: AFC/Stanley Chou CHITTAGONG: A brace from Pradeep Maharjan helped Nepal cruise into the semi-final of the inaugural AFC Challenge Cup beating India 3-0 at the MA Aziz Stadium here on Sunday. Nepal started offensively against their less-experienced rivals and mounted many attacks at the rival citadel since the beginning. Their efforts bore fruits in the 15th minute when Maharjan opened their account. Surendra Tamang’s shot on a Bijay Gurung corner rebounded from Indian defender N. Pradeep and an alert Maharjan slammed the ball in. Maharjan doubled their advantage in the 26th minute when his shot on a Raju Tamang corner was deflected by an Indian defender and hit the left post before sailing into the net. Two minutes later, Basanta Thapa’s scorcher from about 20 yards found the back of the net. India got a chance in the very next minute but Vimal Pariyar’s shot was parried away by Nepal custodian Bikash Malla. The Nepalese team kept the momentum going after the restart but failed to improve the scoreline. In the 66th minute, Surendra Tamang had a golden opportunity on a cross from Bijay Gurung but his shot went wide while Raju Tamang and Basanta Thapa missed sitters in the 83rd and 84th minutes respectively. Nepal coach Shyam Thapa expressed happiness over his team's performance. “My team clicked at the right moment. We took the lead which put the inexperienced Indian side under pressure,Ehe said. “India also played well and they tried hard to make a comeback into the match but in vain." India’s Uzbek coach Islam Akhmedov said his team collapsed within ten minutes of the game. “We conceded goals early into the match and it was all over then itself,Ehe said. Nepal will face Sri Lanka in the semi-final on April 12.