KATHMANDU: Nepal beat UAE by seven wickets in a rain-affected ACC Premier Cup final in Katmandu on Tuesday to clinch a place in the 2023 Asia Cup to be held later this year.
Gulsan Jha top scored for Nepal with an unbeaten 67 ably supported by Bhim Sharki’s knock of 36 not out as the hosts chased down their target of 117 runs in slow Tribhuvan University conditions.
Nepal will now go on to face cricket powerhouses Pakistan and India in the showpiece event slated to be held in Pakistan in September.
Defeat against Nepal extended UAE’s absence from the Asia Cup. The national team last played at the T20 Asia Cup in Bangladesh in 2016, while they have not appeared in the 50-over version since 2008 in Pakistan.
UAE restarted Tuesday’s final with just one wicket remaining having capitulated to 106 for nine in 27.3 overs on Monday before rain brought a halt to proceedings.
Karthik Meiyappan added one additional run to their score before Junaid Siddique became Lalit Rajbanshi’s fourth victim of the match. The Nepalese bowler ended the final with figures of 4-14.
UAE were given some early hope when Kushal Bhurtel was out lbw for just one run off Rohan Mustafa in the first over.
Aasif Sheikh was out by the same method off Aayan Khan before Rohan pickeD up his second wicket by skittling Nepal captain Rohit Paudel to leave the hosts on 22-3 going into their eighth over.
Jha and Sharki then settled Nepali nerves with 17-year-old Jha brining up his 50 off 75 balls that included four sixes and three fours.
The top three finishes of Nepal, UAE and Oman at the ACC Premier Cup mean they will also feature in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in July, where they will take on ‘A’ Teams of five Full Members in the region.
