Kathmandu, September 12 — Nepal have won the ACC Premier Cup after defeating the United Arab Emirates by 45 runs in the final held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday. With the victory, Nepal have also secured their place in the upcoming Asia Cup.
Chasing a target of 314 runs, the UAE were bowled out for 268 in 49.2 overs. Rahul Chopra scored a century for the UAE, making 115 runs, but his innings was not enough to take his team over the line. Shoayb Khan scored 52, Tanish Suri 42, Harpreet Singh 33 and Khuzama Tanveer 15 runs.
For Nepal, Karan KC took three wickets while Lalit Rajbanshi claimed two. Sandeep Lamichhane, Dipendra Singh Airee, Rohit Paudel and Gulshan Jha took one wicket each.
Earlier, Nepal, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, posted a strong total of 313 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 50 overs.
Aasif Sheikh was the star performer with the bat, scoring a century. He made 104 runs off 106 balls, including eight fours and four sixes. Gulshan Jha contributed 52 runs, while Arjun Kumal scored 43 and captain Rohit Paudel made 40.
Dipendra Singh Airee scored 18, Basir Ahmed 15, Ishan Pandey 13 and Sandeep Jora seven runs. Karan KC and Lalit Rajbanshi contributed one run each.
For the UAE, Ibrar Ahmed took four wickets and Khuzama Tanveer claimed two. Haider Ali and Adeeb Usmani took one wicket each.
The Premier Cup title has earned Nepal a place in the Asia Cup. Under the tournament's qualification rules, the Premier Cup champions qualify for the continental tournament, giving Nepal another opportunity to compete on Asia's biggest cricket stage.
Post a Comment