By a Staff Reporter
Dubai – Nepal pulled off a stunning victory against hosts UAE by 42 runs in a tri-series under the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, climbing up to a fifth place with 32 points and pushing UAE down to 6th in the points table.
Nepal’s Inning
Nepal, who won the toss and elected to bat first posted 229/8 in the allocated 50 overs. Gyanendra Malla paired with Aasif Sheikh to open the innings for Nepal as the regular opener Kushal Bhurtel was ruled out following an injury.
Despite a poor start to their innings with the loss of the opening pair Gyanendra Malla and Aasif Sheikh for 11 and 6 runs respectively, Bhim Sharki’s score of 70 runs off 99 deliveries helped Nepal recover.
The third batsman Kushal Malla got bowled off Rohan Musafa’s delivery collecting 32 runs off 32 deliveries.
Moreover, Aarif Sheikh remained unbeaten on 43 runs, while Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, and Karan KC contributed 4, 27, and 17 runs, respectively.
Junaid Siddique led UAE’s bowling attack claiming 3 wickets, while Rohan Mustafa and Aryan Lakra picked 2 wickets each. Moreover, Karthik Meiyappan took a wicket.
UAE’s Inning
Later, Nepal defended the winning target of 230 runs restricting UAE to 187 in 45 overs, thanks to the brilliant performances of Sompal Kami and Dipendra Singh Airee, who claimed 3 wickets each. Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, and Aarif Sheikh took one wicket further.
Despite a strong start by UAE’s top-order batters Asif Khan and Aryan Lakra, who both scored half-centuries, UAE faced difficulties after their dismissal, with only Vrittya Arvind (13) scoring in double figures later.
With skipper Muhammad Waseem departing for a duck out, Asif top-scored 82 runs off 115 deliveries with 2 fours and 3 sixes while Aryan contributed 50 runs off 78 deliveries including 4 fours and a sixer.
Additionally, Chundangapoyil Rizwan 7, Rohan Mustafa 6, Aayan Afzal Khan 2, Alishan Sharafu 6, Karthik Meiyappan 0, Zahoor Khan 7 and Junaid Siddique added 3 runs to the tally.
With this victory, Nepal moved up to the fifth position in the competition points table with 32 points, putting them in a good position to retain ODI recognition. Nepal needs to win two out of its remaining four matches to maintain its ODI recognition.
