Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal defeated the UAE by one run in a last-ball thriller on Sunday to start their Super Six stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia & EAP Qualifier on a positive note. With the win, Nepal moved closer to securing a spot in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Batting first after winning the toss at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman, Nepal scored 140 runs for the loss of six wickets and then bowled out the UAE for 139 runs in 20 overs.
The UAE, needing 10 runs to win in the final over, could manage only eight, as the last over bowled by Dipendra Singh Airee yielded three wickets for Nepal.
Nepal were on the back foot after Dhruv Parashar struck a six off the third ball of the final over, bringing the equation for UAE down to three runs from three balls. However, Airee had Parashar caught by Sundeep Jora on the next delivery, Haider Ali hit the stump while trying to complete his run in the following ball, and Zahid Ali was run out on the final delivery.
Earlier, Nepal made a bright start, adding 95 runs for the loss of two wickets in 14.2 overs. The Nepali batters, however, failed to capitalize on the strong start and added only 45 runs in the next 34 balls. Aasif Sheikh top-scored for Nepal with a 47-ball 51, while Kushal Bhurtel contributed 28 off 26 balls. Rohit Paudel and Kushal Malla added 20 and 10 runs, respectively, before Gulsan Jha smashed a quickfire 14 off five balls.
For the UAE, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Zahid Ali, Haider Ali and Harshit Kaushik took one wicket each.
Alishan Sharafu led the UAE chase with a 40-ball 58 after captain Muhammad Waseem (1) fell early with just two runs on the board. Although opener Jonathan Figy scored 19, the UAE stumbled as Rahul Chopra (7) and Harshit Kaushik (2) were dismissed cheaply. Parashar added 32 off 18 balls but fell in the final over. Zahid Ali chipped in with 11 off 11 balls before he was run out in the final fall.
Dipendra Singh Airee claimed three wickets for Nepal, while Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha and Sandeep Lamichhane took one wicket each.
Nepal will play their second Super Six match against Qatar on Monday.
