Kathmandu, August 30
Nepal lost their second game in the Asia Cup Qualifier against the UAE by 78 runs in Kula Lumpur of Malaysia on Thursday.
They had lost their first match to Oman by seven wickets on Wednesday.
Batting first, the UAE posted a formidable score of 254/9 in the allotted 50 overs. Ashfaq Ahmed (45) and Chirag Suri (65) gave the UAE a solid start putting up a 70-run stand for the opening wicket.
Suri continued to build the innings with the middle-order before being run out. Adanan Mufti (57*) then pushed the score past 250 after putting a 42 run stand with the last two wickets.
Nepal’s bowling looked poor for another game with only Sandeep Lamichhane taking wickets at regular intervals. He finished with 4 for 24 out of his allotted 10 overs with no other bowlers helping him.
In reply, Nepal were all out for 176 after they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They lost opener Gyanendra Malla (4), Paras Khadka (16), and last game’s topscorer Sagar Pun (3) cheaply.
Valiant efforts by Subas Khakurel (50) and Dipendra Singh Airee (40), who put up a 58 run stand, went in vain as the UAE kept on taking wickets at crucial intervals. Ahmed Raza was the pick of the bowler for the UAE with figures of 4 for 37 in his 10 overs.
In other matches today, Hong Kong beat Singapore by five wickets and Oman defeated Malaysia by two wickets.
Subsequently, Nepal’s chances to qualify for the Asia Cup are slim.
As it stands, the UAE and Oman are tied at the top with 6 points.
