Nepal defeats UAE by 37 runs in ICC World Cup League 2 match

Nepal secured its first victory in the ICC World Cup League 2 since June, defeating the UAE by 37 runs on home ground on Saturday. After beating the Netherlands by 16 runs in June, Nepal had suffered four consecutive losses.

At the TU ground in Kirtipur, Nepal set a target of 201 runs for the UAE, who were all out for 163 runs in 48.2 overs. For the UAE, Harpreet Singh scored 39 runs, Akashdeep Nath made 30, captain Muhammad Wasim contributed 34, and Nilans Keswani added 18 runs. Opener Aryan Sharma also scored 18 runs.

For Nepal, Karan KC took four wickets, while Sompal Kami and Sandeep Lamichhane claimed two wickets each. Dipendra Singh Airee and Lalit Rajbanshi took one wicket apiece.

Earlier, after losing the toss and being put to bat first, Nepal had a shaky start but managed to post a moderate score thanks to middle-order batsman Dipendra Singh Airee, who played a crucial innings of 75 runs. Dipendra faced 90 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes.

Nepal was all out for 200 runs in 48.2 overs. Apart from Dipendra, none of the top-order batsmen could play a long innings. Opener Kushal Bhurtel was dismissed for 24 runs, while Asif Sheikh returned to the pavilion with just 7 runs. Bhim Sarki was out for 10 runs, and captain Rohit Paudel was trapped LBW for 2 runs.

The middle order, however, showed some resilience. Basir Ahmed scored 20 runs, Arif Sheikh made 15, and Sompal Kami also contributed 15 runs. Karan KC added 22 runs. For the UAE, Junaid Siddique and Ajay Kumar took three wickets each, while Tanvir claimed two wickets. Haider Ali and Muhammad Sahad took one wicket each.