Kathmandu, March 2
The United Arab Emirates ended Nepal's winning streak with a 68-run victory in the One Day International Tri-series under the ICC Cricket World Cup League-II at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai today.
Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel won the toss for the sixth straight time but their fate was different than the previous occasions.
Nepal, who went into the match with five straight wins, were undone by poor batting after the bowlers restricted the home team to 207-8 in their allotted 50 overs. Nepal then faltered to 139 in 31.5 overs.
Chasing a gettable target, Nepal - who had recorded two each victories over Scotland and Naminia on home soil to clean sweep the tri-series before beating Papua New Guinea in their previous match in Dubai - failed to build partnership since losing opener Kushal Bhurtel (five), Gyanendra Malla (naught) and skipper Paudel (naught) with just 17 runs on the board.
Aasif Sheikh (17) and Aarif Sheikh (naught) also fell cheaply as the UAE reduced Nepal to 65-5 in 12 overs. Kushal Malla fought the lonely battle scoring 60 off 53 balls with the help of nine boundaries and a six.
It was all over for Nepal after Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee (seven) departed in the space of six runs, while Gilsan Jha, Sompal Kami and Karan KC all failed to score in double digits. No 11 batsman Sandeep Lamichhane was the second best contributor with an unbeaten 26 off 24 balls that included four boundaries.
Karthik Meiyappan (3-26) and Rohan Mustafa (3-31) shared six wickets between them, while Junaid Siddique grabbed 2-40. Sabir Ali and Zahoor Khan also bagged a wicket each for the home team.
Earlier, the hosts rode on half centuries from Asif Khan and Rohan Mustafa to help their team post a fighting total.
Khan hit five boundaries and three sixes in his 72 off 99 balls, while player of the match Mustafa remained unbeaten on 76-ball 52 that included two fours. Aryan Lakra (28), skipper Chundangapoyil Rizwan (22) and Vritya Aravind (18) chipped in valuable runs.
Legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane - who got his travel ban overturned by the Supreme Court on Tuesday and joined the squad yesterday - was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 3-27 from 10 overs, while Karan KC, Aarif Sheikh and Kushal Malla bagged one wicket each.
The loss dented Nepal's hopes of finishing in top three and earning a berth in the global qualifiers of the ICC Cricket World Cup. With six matches to play, Nepal are at the sixth position in the seven-team table with 28 points, three behind the UAE. PNG are at the bottom with seven points.
Champions Scotland accumulated 50 points from 36 matches, while Oman - who are assured of top three berth - are second on 44. Namibia are at the third place with 39 points, while the United States are fourth on 35.
Nepal and the UAE - who have six matches each to play - have chances to move to third place. Nepal need to win all six matches, while UAE can do so with five wins. Top five teams will protect the ODI status.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 3, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
