KATHMANDU: Nepal have won the title of the third edition of the ACC Premier Cup One-Day tournament after defeating the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 44 runs in the final held in Malaysia on Saturday.
With the victory, Nepal have qualified for the 2027 ODI Asia Cup to be held in Bangladesh. This is Nepal’s second qualification for the Asia Cup. Nepal had previously secured a place in the 2023 Asia Cup by defeating the UAE.
The UAE, the defending champions, have missed out on qualification for the 2027 Asia Cup.
Chasing Nepal’s target of 314 runs, the UAE were bowled out for 269 runs in 49.1 overs. Rahul Chopra scored an unbeaten 100 off 105 balls, including three fours and four sixes, but his century was not enough to secure victory for the UAE.
Shoaib Khan scored 52, Tanish Suri 42, Harpreet Singh 33 and Khuzema Tanveer 15 for the UAE.
For Nepal, Karan KC took three wickets, while Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi claimed two. Captain Sandeep Lamichhane, Dipendra Singh Airee, Rohit Kumar Paudel and Gulshan Jha took one wicket each.
Earlier, Nepal posted 313 for nine in their allotted 50 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur.
Opener and wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh led Nepal’s batting with a century, scoring 102 runs off 106 balls with eight fours and four sixes. It was his second century in ODI cricket.
Gulshan Jha also scored a half-century, making 52 runs off 38 balls with four sixes and three fours. It was his sixth half-century in ODI cricket.
Arjun Kumal scored 43, Rohit Kumar Paudel 40, Dipendra Singh Airee 18, Basir Ahmad an unbeaten 15 and Ishan Pandey 13.
For the UAE, Ibrar Ahmed took four wickets, while Khuzema Tanveer claimed two. Haider Ali and Abid Usmani took one wicket each.
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