Nepal secured the third spot of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 after a thrilling win over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday. The Rohit Kumar-led side registered a win over UAE by 9 runs in this high-scoring rain-affected match due. The Duckworth–Lewis system (DLS) showed Nepal beat their Asian rival despite having conceded 310 runs in the first innings.
After being asked to bowl first by UAE, Nepal wouldn't be too proud of their bowling effort. UAE's innings witnessed captain Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind score half-centuries respectively with the former scoring 63 off 49 deliveries and Aravind chipping in with 94 off 138 balls.
However, the star of the show was Asif Khan who scored the fastest hundred by a player from an associate nation and the fourth fastest men's ODI ton ever. He remained unbeaten on 101 off 42 deliveries riding on whose innings, the UAE total went past 300.
In response, Nepal made 269/6 in 44 overs and were adjudged winners by 9 runs on the DLS method. Kushal Bhurtel (50 off 35), Bhim Sharki (67 off 76), Aarif Sheikh (52 off 62) and Gulshan Jha (50* off 48) were the star performers for the winning team.
The victory was Nepal's 11th one in 12 games to finish in ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. This has helped Nepal seal a place at the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe where they will be competing with 10 teams to try and play the marquee event in India.
The ODI World Cup in India is slated to be held in October-November. This will be the first time that the tournament will be hosted entirely by the country.