Skipper Paras Khadka completed a five-wicket haul to help his side pull off a 25-run win over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ‘A’ in Dubai on Tuesday in their warm-up match ahead of the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 Tournament in Namibia.

Electing to bat first at the ICC Oval 1 Cricket Ground, Nepal were dismissed for 246 runs in 49.3 overs. In reply, the UAE ‘A’ team managed 221 in 48.4 overs with Khadka the key figure to derail their run chase. The Nepali national team, who left out star leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane for the match, is preparing for February 8-15 Division 2, a gateway to the ICC World Cup Qualifiers to be held in March in Zimbabwe.

The six-team Division 2 sends top two teams to the Qualifiers. If Nepal manage to qualify for the 10-team Qualifiers, it can open up opportunities to compete in the Intercontinental Cup-a four-day cricket tournament between top Associates-and the World Cricket League Championship (WCLC) which is a 50-over home and away tournament.

After Nepal lost opener Gyanendra Malla (18) cheaply, Dilip Nath and new boy Anil Kumar Sah laid the foundation for a competitive total with a 60-run stand for the second wicket. Nath top scored with a fluent 61, his 60-ball innings studded with nine fours and a six. Sah, hoping to earn first senior team cap, scored a patient 31 off 52 balls.

Another young gun Rohit Kumar Paudel, who is also hoping to make debut for

the senior team at the Division 2 tournament, justified his selection with a handy 43 runs off 51 balls. No 9 batsman Karan KC then took to the opposition with an explosive 35 runs, his 16-ball cameo included four hits to the fence and

two sixes. Skipper Khadka (20) and Basanta Regmi (21) also chipped in valuable runs to the total. Laxman Srikumar took three, while Mohammad Qasim and Karthik Mayappan claimed two wickets each for the UAE ‘A’.

In reply, Fahad Nawaz and Chirag Suri gave UAE a strong start putting on 87 runs for the first wicket before Dipendra Singh Airee helped Nepal claw their way back into the game by sending both the openers back to pavilion. Suri struck 5-ball 47 with seven hits to the fence, while Nawaz scored 36 off 43 balls. The double blow in quick succession triggered a mini collapse for UAE as they were reduced to 111-5 in the 23rd over from 87-0 in the 15th over.

No 6 batsman Neil Lobo then held firm as UAE appeared set to overhaul the Nepal total with his composed knock. But by the time Khadka uprooted Lobo’s stumps in the 49th over, the target was already beyond the UAE’s reach. Lobo scored 59 off 90

balls with four hits to the fence. Khadka finished with figures of 5-36 while Airee took 3-38.

Summary

Nepal 246 in 49.3 overs (D Nath 61, RK Paudel 43, Karan KC 35; L Srikumar 3-18, K Mayappan 2-34, M Qasim 2-36) beat UAE ‘A’ 221 in 48.4 overs (N Lobo 59, C Suri 45; P Khadka 5-36, DS Airee 3-38) by 25 runs