Kathmandu, March 12: In the final triangular series of the ICC World Cup League-2, Nepal has won a great victory. The home team Nepal defeated the UAE by 177 runs in the match held at the TU cricket ground in Kirtipur on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 249 runs, UAE was bowled out on meagre 71 runs in 22.5 overs.
Aryan Afzal Khan of UAE scored 29 runs off 33 balls while Ashwanth Valthapa added 14 runs off 22 balls.
Similarly, while Karthik Maiyappan scored 11 runs, other batsmen could not reach double figures.
For Nepal, Lalit Rajbanshi took five wickets, while Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets and Sompal Kami, Dipendra Singh Airee and Gulshan Jha took one wicket each.
After winning the toss, Nepal started batting first and added 248 runs in 49.2 overs. Captain Rohit Paudel contributed the most 77 runs for Nepal. He played 112 balls and hit 9 fours. Captain Paudel was declared as Player of the Match.
Similarly, when Aarif Sheikh scored 43 runs in 52 balls, Gulshan Jha, who played 32 balls, got out after scoring 37 runs with the help of 3 sixes and 1 four. Similarly, Dipendra Singh Airee added 34 runs off 19 balls and Bhim Sharks contributed 29 runs off 37 balls.
UAE’s Rohan Mustafa, Zawar Farid, Aryan Afzal Khan and Zahoor Khan took two wickets each while Aryan Lakra, Junaid Siddiqui took one wicket each.
With a record 177-run win over UAE, Nepal has secured ODI recognition for the next four years.
Meanwhile, UAE has lost the opportunity to save the ODI recognition directly with the defeat against Nepal. With this result, Nepal has directly received ODI recognition by being in the top five in League 2.
Now, if Nepal wins the remaining two matches, it will be able to play the World Cup qualifiers directly.
Similarly, if they lose in one match, Nepal will have to play a playoff qualifier. Nepal is in the fourth position with 36 points out of 34 matches with 17 wins and 15 losses.
UAE is in sixth place with 31 points from 34 matches with 14 wins and 17 losses.
