KATHMANDU, April 25: Nepal defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 37 runs in the 97th match of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League-2 held in Kirtipur on Saturday.
Nepal set a target of 201 runs as the UAE were bowled out for 163 runs in 48.2 overs, losing all their wickets. Fast bowler Karan KC took four wickets in favor of Nepal's victory. He bowled 9.2 overs, while registering two maidens and spent 19 runs in total.
Similarly, Sandeep Lamichhane and Sompal Kami took two wickets each, while Deependra Singh Airee and Lalit Rajbanshi took one wicket each.
Road to ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 starts in September
Openers Aryansh Sharma and Nilansh Keshwani could only contribute 18 runs each. Earlier, Nepal, batting first, had scored 200 runs in 48.2 overs, losing all their wickets.
To take Nepal to a respectable total, Airee played a brilliant half-century of 75 runs off 90 balls with the help of 5 fours and 2 sixes.
Opener Kushal Bhurtel scored 24, Karan KC 22 and Bashir Ahmed scored 20 runs. Nepal captain Rohit Poudel returned to the pavilion after 2 runs, while wicketkeeper Asif Sheikh was dismissed for 7 and Bhim Sarki for 10 runs.
Chasing the target, Harpreet Singh scored topmost for the UAE with 39 runs off 52 balls. UAE captain Mohammad Wasim contributed 34 runs and Akshadeep Nath 30 runs.
Junaid Siddiqui and Ajay Kumar performed well in the bowling for the UAE, taking three wickets each. Similarly, Tanveer Khuzayma took two wickets and Haider Ali and Mohammad Shahdad took one wicket each.
