Airee ton powers Nepal to a thrilling six-run win over UAE

KATHMANDU: Nepal defeated the UAE by six runs (under DLS method) in their third match of the ongoing ICC World Cricket League (WCL) 2 tri-series at the TU International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Nepal scored 289 for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 50 overs, helped by Vice Captain Dipendra Singh Airee’s 94-ball 100. Chasing the revised target of 255 in 38 overs, UAE could score only 248 for the loss of eight wickets.

Nepal’s new opening pair of Arjun Kumal and Binod Bhandari added 25 runs for the first wicket. Debutant Arjun Kumal scored 11 off 22, while Bhandari, playing his first ODI for nearly four years, scored 56 off 79 balls. Although Bhim Sharki fell for duck, Captain Rohit Paudel scored 39 off 48 balls before Airee got his second ODI hundred. He hit 13 fours and one six in his match-winning knock. Although Aarif Sheikh (11) fell cheaply, Gulsan Jha scored 44 off 38 balls to take Nepal close to 290.

Junaid Siddique and Ajay Kumar took two wickets each for Nepal, while Haider Ali and Ajay Kumar chipped in with a wicket each.

Muhammad Shahdad top-scored for the UAE in the case with a 72-ball 65. Opener Aryansh Sharma scored 33, Adeeb Usmani made 14, and Harpreet Singh contributed 41 off 40 balls. Akshdeep Nath (26) and Khuzaima Tanveer (49) scored briskly and threatened to take the match from Nepal. However, Nandan Yadav removed Tanveer for 49 off 26 balls in the second ball of the final over and bowled two dots in his last two balls to ensure two points for Nepal.

Sandeep Lamichhane picked up three wickets for Nepal, while Sompal Kami and Yadav claimed two each.

The UAE take on Oman in their final match of the WCL tri-series on Tuesday.