Nepal, UAE reach ACC Premier Cup final

 Nepal advanced into the final of the ACC Premier Cup as group toppers after rain interrupted their semi-final match against Kuwait at the TU ground in Kirtipur on Saturday.

                                                photo: tkp

The game was stopped at 8.3 overs due to a downpour while Kuwait were struggling at 37-6. Sent in to bat first, Nepal posted 281-9 in the game reduced to 42 overs per side and the Gulf side was given a revised target of 281 runs.

Interrupted twice due to rain in Nepal’s innings as well, the game was stopped due to unplayable conditions in the second innings without fetching any result.

Nepal had advanced into the semi-final as Group ‘A’ winners and Kuwait as Group ‘B’ runners up. Nepal will play against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the summit clash on Monday, who edged a ‘sorry’ Oman by two runs under D/L method in the other semi-final at the Mulpani Stadium.

The winners of the tournament will qualify for ACC Asia Cup scheduled in Pakistan in September. The winner between Nepal and UAE will join world cricket heavyweights India and Pakistan in Group A. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are in Group B.

At the TU ground, captain Rohit Paudel and Kushal Malla both scored half centuries and stitched up a 109-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Coming in to bat at number four, Paudel scored 94 runs off 95 balls that included seven hits to the fence along with three sixes. He was caught by Yasin Patel off Mohammed Aslam.

Malla struck four boundaries and as many sixes in his 44-ball 57 before Sayed Monib had him caught by Aslam. Nepal were off to a strong start after openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh posted a 77-run stand for the first wicket.

But the dismissal of Bhurtel on 43 runs off 39 balls was followed by the departure of next two batters in quick succession, including his opening partner Aasif for a 28-ball 31. They were both caught by Patel off Adnan Idrees' deliveries. Bhim Sharki was the next batter to be dismissed for one run.

Aarif Sheikh contributed a-run-a-ball 19 and Sompal Kami remained not out on 13 runs.

UAE bowlers Patel and captain Mohammed Aslam both claimed three wickets each. Idrees conceded 53 runs in his eight over spell that included a maiden over. Aslam gave away 43 runs in his eight overs of bowling.

Chasing the target, Kuwait lost top order batters cheaply in quick succession after medium pacers Karan KC claimed five wickets and Sompal Kami one as Nepal seemed to be heading towards a big win. The tight fielding of the hosts, backed by roaring home supporters, was largely to be credited for the home team’s sensational performance with the ball.

Among the six top order batters, the Kuwait captain was the only player to reach a double-digit score, making14 runs before getting dismissed.

KC gave away 10 runs in his 4.3 overs spell that included a maiden over. Sompal conceded 15 runs in his two-over spell.

At the Mulpani ground, UAE were declared winners by two runs on D/L method against Oman. Put into bat first, UAE were bowled out for 236 runs with four balls to spare

Oman, chasing the target of 237 runs, were 190-6 when the match was called off after the 43rd over.

UAE’s opener and captain Muhammmad Waseem contributed 48 runs off 31 balls, Rameez Shahzad 46 runs off 58 while Asif Khan and Basil Hameed scored an equal 34 runs each.

Oman’s Bilal Khan and Zeeshan Maqsood grabbed four wickets each while Ayaan Khan picked up two wickets. Khan gave away 44 runs in his 9.2 overs of bowling with a maiden over while Maqsood conceded 32 runs in his 10-over spell.

Chasing the target, openers Kashyap Prajapati and Jainder Singh shared a 79-run stand for the first wicket before the former was dismissed for 49 runs off 43 balls. Singh contributed 42 runs, facing 65 deliveries.

Captain Zeeshan Maqsood scored 40 runs off 70 balls, Mohammad Nadeem was unbeaten on 24 off 52 and Shoaib Khan scored 19.

UAE bowler Karthik Meiyappan claimed three wickets and Basil Hameed bagged two. Meiyappan conceded 42 runs in his seven-over spell and bowled a maiden over. Hameed, named player-of-the-match for his allround show, conceded 20 runs in his six-over spell.   

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