Nepal will be hoping to emulate their success in the One-Day International (ODI) Series by claiming the three-match Twenty20 International Series against the hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the third and final match looms for the Associate rivals.

Nepal made a remarkable comeback to secure the preceding three-match ODI series against the UAE after losing opener by three wickets on January 25. Contribution from the youngsters in the second match and Paras Khadka’s maiden ODI ton–also the country’s–in the third handed Nepal the first ever ODI series triumph.

Nepal followed the similar pattern in the Twenty20 losing the first game by 21 runs owing to the top-order failure. They remained in hunt for a maiden T20 International series when they won the second game by four wickets where middle order batsman Dipendra Singh Airee left a rough patch behind him to score a match-winning 41-ball 47 not out. The timing of Airee’s gaining form is a huge boost for the Nepali team looking for the ODI-T10I double.

Airee has been one of the key members of the senior team for the last few years making handy contribution in Nepal’s march towards ODI status. The former U-19 team national skipper, however, was under serious scrutiny after failing to score in the first four matches of the UAE tour. Airee chipped in just 16 runs in the ODI series and could not manage four in the first Twenty20 match.

But under crunch situation when Nepal were tottering at 46-5 in chase the of 108 in the second Twenty20 game, Airee turned the tide towards Nepal’s favour with a match-winning 55-run stand for the sixth wicket with Pawan Sarraf. Skipper Paras Khadka was happy to see one his troops hitting form at the right time.

“We always have a huge belief in him. He has contributed for the team in the past and is someone who we can rely upon. We are glad to see him getting amongst the runs. I hope he continues this form at big stage,” said Khadka who didn’t want to get carried away by the victory. “We will try our best (in the third match). We have to start all over again. The matches have shown that players from both the teams are hungry to perform. We are hopeful of putting in a convincing performance,” added the Nepali skipper.

The pressure will be on opener Pradeep Airee, who made a comeback into the national side for the Twenty20 matches but has failed to provide big starts in the first two games. Pradeep was dismissed in the first ball of Thursday’s first Twenty20 match and could only muster eight in the second. Pradeep now remains as the only weak link in the Nepali batting and could even be replaced by ODI opener Binod Bhandari, who didn’t feature in the first two matches.

The key for Nepal will be their bowlers who have been dominating the whole tour. Sompal Kami have been brilliant up front as he completed his four-over spell on a trot in the second match and picked up two wickets to give Nepal an early initiative. Star leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane would like to maintain his fine form after picking up four wickets in the first two games. The new-comer Abinash Bohara has been a revelation for the team. With a very short run-up Bohora has impressed in the first two matches, particularly in the second, where he took three wickets.