Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal slumped to their second consecutive defeat in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup League (WCL) 2 tri-series, losing to hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) by five wickets at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on Thursday.
Batting first, Nepal were bowled out for 233 runs off the final delivery of their innings. Captain Rohit Paudel’s second ODI century was the only positive outcome of the match for Nepal, as six batters failed to reach double digits. Paudel scored 109 off 130 balls to give some respectability to Nepal’s total. He found some support from Aasif Sheikh (35), Aarif Sheikh (27) and Dipendra Singh Airee (23) from the other end.
Zahid Ali took four wickets for the UAE, while Junaid Siddique claimed three, and Muhammad Rohid and Haider Ali picked up one each.
In reply, the UAE chased down the 234-run target in 43.3 overs, losing five wickets. Opener Aryansh Sharma narrowly missed his maiden ODI century, scoring a run-a-ball 98 with 10 fours and three sixes. He was caught by Sandeep Lamichhane off his own bowling. Alishan Sharafu added a quickfire 45 off 26 balls, while Muhammad Waseem made 26. Dhruv Prashar (16*) and Zahid Ali (11*) remained unbeaten to take UAE home with 39 balls to spare.
Sandeep Lamichhane bagged two wickets for Nepal, while Karan KC and Dipendra Singh Airee claimed one each.
With this win, the UAE moved to eight points from 18 matches. Nepal sit just above them in seventh place with 12 points from 18 matches, while the United States lead the table with 32 points from 22 games.
Nepal will face the United States in their third match of the tri-series on Saturday.
