Kathmandu, January 25
The UAE beat Nepal by three wickets in their first ODI of the three-match ODI series being played in Dubai.
Batting first, the rhinos were all out for a sub-par total of 113 in 33 overs.
The opening pair failed again as Nepal were reduced to 16 for 2 in the first 6 overs. Captain Paras Khadka and Sompal Kami tried to settle the innings, but both got out for 20 and 30 respectively.
Nepal kept losing wickets at regular intervals and had no answer to the pace bowling of UAE stand-in captain Mohammed Naveed and Mair Hayat, who bagged three wickets each. Aarif Sheikh’s 25 and Sandeep Lamichhane’s 15 helped Nepal get the score above a 100.
In reply, the UAE looked to be cruise control, but kept losing wickets to keep Nepal in the game. Khadka and Lamichhane bowled tight spells to give Nepal hope. Nepal looked to have taken the advantage after Lamichhane got the crucial wicket of the settled Ghulam Shabber reducing the UAE to 73 for 6.
However, realising they were in no hurry, a composed innings from Hayat and Imran Haider helped the UAE beat Nepal.
With this victory, the UAE have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. The second game will be played on the same ground on Saturday.
