Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal secured a convincing seven-wicket victory over the UAE in the opening match of the Nepal Tri-Nation T20 International Series at the Mulpani International Cricket Ground on Wednesday,
Invited to bat first after losing the toss, UAE managed to post 140 runs on the board for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Nepal successfully chased down the target losing three wickets with seven balls to spare.
UAE’s innings got off to a shaky start as opener Khalid Shah was dismissed for a duck in the very first over of the match. The visitors further stumbled with Alishan Sharabu departing after contributing just 13 runs in the fourth over. Captain Muhammad Waseem’s departure, after scoring 17 runs off 18 balls, added to UAE’s woes. Basil Hameed’s aggressive half-century lifted UAE. Hameed scored 51 runs from 38 balls. Ali Naseer contributed with 32 runs from 30 balls. Other UAE batsmen failed to reach double digits.
Karan KC took three wickets for Nepal. While Gulshan Jha secured two wickets, Sompal Kami and Abinash Bohara each contributed one wicket.
Chasing 141 for victory, Nepal scored 144 runs for the loss of three wickets in 18.5 overs. Although the Nepali top-order batsmen got starts, they couldn’t convert them into significant scores. Kushal Bhurtel managed a run-a-ball 14, while Aasif Sheikh contributed 23 runs from 27 balls. Kushal Malla’s run-out at 51-3 in the ninth over added a brief moment of tension.
However, Captain Rohit Poudel and Dipendra Singh Airee stepped in to stabilize the innings and guided Nepal to victory with seven balls to spare. Poudel scored 51 runs from 40 balls, while Airee made 34 runs from 23 balls.
Nilansh Keswani and Ali Naseer picked up a wicket each for UAE.
Nepal is will face Hong Kong in the next match of the series on Thursday.
