Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal secured its spot in the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024 with a convincing eight-wicket victory over UAE in a must-win match at the Mulpani International Cricket Ground on Friday.
Batting first after winning the toss, UAE posted a total of 134 for the loss of nine wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Nepal chased down the target losing just two wickets with 17 balls to spare, thanks to opener Aasif Sheikh’s beautiful half-century.
Nepali bowlers impressively restricted UAE to 134 runs, despite Vriitya Aravind’s half-century. Aravind scored 64 runs from 51 balls, which included two sixes and four fours, but lacked support from his teammates. Captain Muhammad Waseem contributed 26 runs off 16 balls, while Alishan Sharafu and Asif Khan added 16 and 13 runs, respectively. The other UAE batsmen failed to reach double digits.
Chasing 135 runs to secure a place in the T20 World Cup, Nepal lost Kushal Bhurtel early, as he was caught near the boundary by Wassem off Nilansh Keswani. Gulshan Jha, who was elevated to the No.3 position, scored 22 runs from 24 balls. Opener Aasif Sheikh remained unbeaten with 63 runs off 50 balls, while Captain Rohit Poudel contributed a not-out 35 runs from 21 balls. UAE’s Nilansh Keswani and Basil Hameed managed to take one wicket each.
With this victory, Nepal has entered the final of the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024 Asian Qualifier, where it will face Oman. The final is scheduled to be played at TU International Cricket Ground on Sunday.
In another semifinal played on Friday, Oman secured their spot in the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024 by defeating Bahrain with a comprehensive ten-wicket victory.
Who Has Qualified?
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, to be hosted jointly by the West Indies and the United States, will feature 20 teams. The top eight teams from the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup—Australia, England, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka—secured automatic qualification for the 2024 event, along with the hosts, the US and the West Indies.
Likewise, Afghanistan and Bangladesh qualified for the tournament as the next two teams from the T20I rankings.
Ireland and Scotland qualified for the global showpiece from the European region, while Papua New Guinea booked its spot by winning the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, and Canada secured its place by winning the Americas qualifier.
Nepal and Oman have qualified from the Asian Qualifer, while the two African sides will be selected through the Africa qualifier to be hosted by Namibia next month.
