The Nepal cricket team made history on Tuesday, May 2, defeating the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) by seven wickets in the ACC Men’s Premier Cup final to earn a spot in the Asia Cup 2023. With their victory, Nepal became the sixth team to earn a spot in the continental tournament and was assigned to Group A with other Asian heavyweights Pakistan and India.
Rohit Paudel, the captain of Nepal, is eager to play with Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, two of cricket’s brightest stars. That is admirable. After learning that India and Pakistan are in the same group as them, Paudel was reported as saying.
Nepal earlier this year attained qualification for the 50-over World Cup qualifiers that will take place in Zimbabwe.
“For us as a team, this is just the beginning. There will likely be many more successes as we have only just begun. I consider myself really fortunate to have a fantastic team. Fans have been present for a very long time and are still present. They stood for us yesterday as well, in the rain. So a huge thank you to them,” Paudel was cited by India Today Sports as adding.
Speaking about the Nepal vs. UAE final, which was played at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Nepal captain Paudel urged UAE to bat first after winning the toss. His bowlers backed up the choice, as after 13.1 overs, UAE were in trouble at 51/5. Asif Khan’s heroic innings of 46 off 54 balls was unsuccessful, and UAE were bowled out for 117 in 33.1 overs.
With his fifty, Gulsan Jha led Nepal to victory in the final.
The bowlers that excelled for Nepal were Lalit Rajbanshi (4/14, in 7.1 overs), Karan KC (2/26, in 7 overs), and Sandeep Lamichhane (2/34, in 10 overs), who each claimed two wickets.
After eight overs in the second innings, Nepal was struggling and had a score of 22/3. Gulsan Jha (67 off 84) and Bhim Sharki (36 off 72) saw their side was in trouble and put up a game-winning partnership of 96 runs off 135 balls to assist their team chase down the goal in 30.3 overs.
Due to his outstanding fifty and one wicket he took during the game, Gulsan Jha was named Player of the Match as Nepal won the match by seven wickets. For his 55 runs and 13 wickets during the competition, Sandeep Lamichhane was named Player of the Tournament.
