Nepal qualifies for Asia Cup after defeating UAE

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Nepal has won the ACC Premier Cup cricket tournament for the second time.

Nepal defeated the United Arab Emirates by 44 runs in the final played at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today.

With the victory, Nepal has qualified for the 2027 ODI Asia Cup to be held in Bangladesh.

This is the second time Nepal has qualified for the Asia Cup. Nepal had earlier secured a place in the 2023 edition by defeating the UAE.

Batting first after winning the toss, Nepal scored 313 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 50 overs.

Opener and wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh was the top scorer for Nepal. He made 102 runs from 106 balls, with eight fours and four sixes.

It was Aasif Sheikh’s second century in One-Day International cricket.

Gulshan Jha also contributed 52 runs from 38 balls, hitting four sixes and three fours.

This was Gulshan’s sixth half-century in ODI cricket.

Arjun Kumal scored 43 runs, while captain Rohit Paudel made 40. Dipendra Singh Airee scored 18, Ishan Pandey made 13 and Bashir Ahmad remained unbeaten on 15.

For the UAE, Ibrar Ahmed took four wickets, while Khuzaima Tanveer claimed two wickets. Haider Ali and Adeeb Usmani took one wicket each.

Chasing a target of 314 runs, the UAE were bowled out for 269 runs in 49.1 overs.

Rahul Chopra top-scored for the UAE with an unbeaten 100 runs from 105 balls, including three fours and four sixes.

Shoaib Khan scored 52, Tanish Suri made 42, and Harpreet Singh contributed 33 runs.

For Nepal, Karan KC took three wickets. Lalit Rajbanshi claimed two wickets, while captain Sandeep Lamichhane, Dipendra Singh Airee, Rohit Paudel and Gulshan Jha took one wicket each.