Nepal defeats UAE by 7 wickets, qualifies for ACC Asia Cup

KATHMANDU: Nepal has lifted the ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023 and qualified for the ACC Asia Cup 2023, defeating UAE by seven wickets in the rain-affected match at the TU International Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

Invited to bat first after losing the toss, UAE was all out scoring 117 runs in the allotted 50 overs. The UAE innings spilled to the reserve day on Tuesday as rain interrupted the play on Monday with UAE at 106/9 in 27.3 overs.

Lalit Rajbanshi, who was on a hattrick when the match was interrupted on Monday, took the last UAE wicket, finishing with 4/14 in 7.1 overs.

Nepal wobbled in the chase losing three wickets for 22 runs in 7.6 overs. But Gulshan Jha and Bhim Sarki steadied the ship and took Nepal hope. Jha scored 67 runs from 84 balls, while Sarki contributed with a resilient 36 from 72 balls.

Rohan Mustafa took two wickets for Nepal giving just 13 runs in his 10-over spell, while Aayan Afzl Khan took one wicket.

With the victory, Nepal has made it to the Gorup ‘A’ of the 2023 Asia Cup which also includes India and Pakistna.