Nepal succumbed to an 84-run defeat against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first match of the three-match One-Day International (ODI) bilateral series at the TU ground in Kirtipur on Monday.
Nepal’s poor show with the bat was to be blamed for the defeat as they were restricted to 179-9 after the visiting UAE team, sent into bat first, posted 263-7 in the allotted 50 overs.
Nepal's ODI debutant Arjun Saud, who came out to open the innings, and Dipendra Singh Airee’s half centuries went in vain as Nepal lost other batters cheaply. Apart from the duo, opener Aasif Sheikh (12 runs) and tailender Gulshan Jha (not out 19) were the only other Nepali batters to reach double-digit scores.
Chasing the target, Nepal lost wickets in quick succession, despite opener Saud scoring a patient 79-ball 51, that included five hits to the fence. Nepal’s top order batters, opener Sheikh, one-down batter Gyanendra Malla (0) and Rohit Kumar Paudel (1), shouldering the ODI captain’s responsibility for the first time, were all dismissed by the UAE’s debutant bowler Aayan Afzal Khan in a space of five runs with only 32 runs on board.
Nepal’s captain Paudel pointed out that his side failed to execute match plans with both the ball and bat. “We collapsed at an early stage in batting and lost three wickets too quickly. We could have chased the target had we not lost early wickets,” said Paudel, who was also full of praise for Khan. “Aayan bowled really well and put us under pressure.”
Saud shared a 68-run partnership for fifth wicket with Airee, before being clean bowled by Rohan Mustafa in the 31st over. Airee scored 54 runs off 84 balls, comprising six sixes. He was caught by Alishan Sharafu off Zahoor Khan in the 40th over.
Shiekh hit a boundary while facing 19 deliveries, while Jha hit a boundary and a six in his unbeaten knock off 34 balls. Apart from Saud, Hari Shankar Shah playing in his first ODI match was dismissed for eight runs. Kushal Bhurtel (6), Sompal Kami (3) and Karan KC (3) were all out cheaply.
The UAE’s slow left arm orthodox bowler Khan bowled impressively, claiming four wickets in his 10-overs. The teenager who turns 17 on Tuesday, conceded only 14 runs while bowling four maidens. Basil Hamid accounted for two wickets, while Zahoor Khan, Rohan Mustafa and Ahmed Raza shared a wicket each.
For the UAE, Rohan Mustafa scored 53 runs, the highest of the innings, after openers Muhammad Waseem and Vriitya Aravind gave them a sound start, sharing a 75-run stand for the opening wicket. Mustafa, dropped from UAE’s World T20 squad that recently returned from Australia, proved his worth by cracking seven boundaries in his 73-ball knock. He was caught off the bowling of medium pacer Sompal Kami by Aasif Sheikh.
Waseem hit a 41-ball 44 that included six hits to the fence and a six, before Gulshan Jha got him out. Jha also dismissed captain Chundagapoyil Rizwan, taking over the captain’s responsibility for the first time in an ODI match, for two runs on the last delivery of the same over.
Opener Aravind, the third UAE wicket to fall, contributed 40 off 82 balls with six hits to the fence. He was trapped leg before by Dipendra Singh Airee.
Alishan Sharafu scored 29 off 39 balls, Ahmed Raza remained not out on 27 off 16, Aayan Afzal Khan 26 off 28 and Basil Hameed 14 off 16 were the other contributors to the UAE score.
Nepal’s Gulshan Jha picked up two wickets in his six-over spell, conceding 26 runs, while Sompal Kami and Dipendra Singh Airee accounted for a wicket each.
The UAE captain Rizwan said that it was a good experience coming to Nepal and playing in front of a big crowd. “We look forward to carrying the momentum in the upcoming matches. Though the score was not big on a good batting pitch like this, the boys came up with a tight bowling performance and defended our score,” he said.
“It was an amazing performance by Aayan (Khan) to get wickets in debut ODI game. To have a spell like that really speaks of his calibre,” Rizwan added.
13.12°C Kathmandu
