Nepal Secures Final Asia Cup 2023 Spot after Challenging Chase
On the reserve day of the Premier Cup final, Nepal clinched the final Asia Cup 2023 spot after successfully chasing down a tricky target of 118 against a strong spin-bowling group of the UAE at the Tribhuvan University grounds in Kathmandu, Nepal. Skipper Rohit Paudel and coach Monty Desai made a smart move by promoting […]
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On the reserve day of the Premier Cup final, Nepal clinched the final Asia Cup 2023 spot after successfully chasing down a tricky target of 118 against a strong spin-bowling group of the UAE at the Tribhuvan University grounds in Kathmandu, Nepal. Skipper Rohit Paudel and coach Monty Desai made a smart move by promoting Gulshan Jha to No.3 in the batting order. Jha’s unbeaten 67 proved crucial in negotiating Aayan Khan’s left-arm orthodox and countering UAE’s spin-bowling group on a slow pitch.
Earlier, UAE resumed their innings at 106/9 on the morning of the reserve day, and Lalit Rajbanshi finished with figures of 4/14 (7.1) with his left-arm orthodox, including the final wicket. Nepal’s leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane claimed 2/34 (10), extending his streak of wicket-taking outings in ODI cricket to 33 matches.
UAE’s spinners had made early inroads, dismissing Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel cheaply. Rohan Mustafa then forced a mistake from skipper Paudel to make it 22/3. However, Jha was watchful early and then unleashed an array of shots, including multiple sixes down the ground. He pounced on Karthik Meiyappan, hitting the leg-spinner for 14 runs in just three balls to swing momentum in Nepal’s favor. The flurry eased the pressure on the batting side, and Bhim Sharki joined Jha in the middle overs to form an unbeaten 96-run partnership and take Nepal to victory.
The win means that Nepal will feature in Group A alongside India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023, scheduled for September. The top three teams from the Premier Cup, Nepal, UAE, and Oman, will also participate in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in July, where they will take on the ‘A’ teams of five Full Members in the region. The victory was a significant achievement for Nepal cricket, as it provided a much-needed boost after the disappointment of missing out on the T20 World Cup.
