The Nepal national cricket team's five-match One-Day International winning streak came to an end after they crashed to a 68-run defeat against hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Triangular Series of ICC World Cup League 2 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Nepal came up with a miserable show with the bat and were bowled out for 139 runs in 31.5 overs in their chase after hosts UAE, sent to bat first, posted 207-8 in the 50-over match.

Middle order batter Kushal Malla was the highest scorer for Nepal, contributing 60 runs off 53 balls that included nine hits to the fence along with a six. Apart from him, tailender Sandeep Lamichhane (not out 26 runs off 24 balls) and opener Aasif Sheikh (16 runs off 17 balls), were the other Nepali batters to reach double-digit scores.

The defeat meant that Nepal missed a chance to climb above the UAE in the seven-team standings. Nepal have 28 points and are three points behind UAE after playing an equal 30 games. Nepal need to win four among their remaining six matches to secure a top-five finish which would help it retain their ODI status for next four years.

Nepal had defeated Papua New Guinea (PNG) by four-wickets in their first match of the series on Monday, while the UAE had faced a 131-run defeat against PNG. Nepal had registered five straight wins in their last five ODIs, defeating League 2 champions Scotland and Namibia twice each in the Nepal Tri-Series held from February 14 to 21 in Kirtipur and had beaten PNG in their last game.

Nepal and PNG will play their next match of the series on Friday.

Nepal made a shaky start to their run chase and lost early wickets with 17-3 on board. Opener Kushal Bhurtel was dismissed for five runs while former captain Gyanendra Malla and captain Rohit Paudel departed without troubling the scorers.

Opener Aasif Sheikh was the next batter to be dismissed after Zahoor Khan had him caught by Rohan Mustafa with the team score reading 54-4.

Coming in to bat at number five, Kushal Malla gave some resistance to Nepal but he could not get support from the other end as Nepal lost wickets in quick succession. He slammed nine hits to the fence along with a six before Rohan Mustafa caught him off a delivery by Karthik Meiyappan.

Aarif Sheikh was out for a duck and Dipendra Singh Airee (7), Sompal Kami (4), Gulsan Jha (4) and Karan KC (5) too, departed cheaply. Tailender Lamichhane hit four boundaries in his unbeaten 24-ball knock.

UAE’s all-rounder Rohan Mustafa and Karthik Meiyappan both claimed three wickets each while Junaid SIddique picked up two wickets. Mustafa conceded 31 runs in his 10-over spell and bowled two maiden overs. Meiyappan gave away 26 runs in his 8.5 overs of bowling.

UAE also lost opener Muhammad Waseem for a duck in the very first over after he was bowled by medium pacer Karan KC off the fifth ball of the over. But his opening partner Asif Khan and Rohan Mustafa cracked half centuries with the latter remaining unbeaten.

Opener Khan hit 72 off 99 balls before leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane had him caught by Karan KC with the team score reading 139-4. He struck five boundaries and three sixes. Middle order batsman Mustafa scored 52 off 76 balls studded with two boundaries.

Aryan Lakra (28 runs off 36 balls), captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan (22 runs off 40) and Vritya Aravind (18 runs off 38) were the other major contributors for the UAE.

Leg spinner Lamichhane was the pick of bowling for Nepal, claiming three wickets in his 10-over spell, conceding 27 runs.

Lamichhane was included in the team against the UAE after his travel ban was revoked by a Supreme Court decision on Monday. The 22-year-old was accused of raping a minor and released on bail by Patan High Court on January 13.

Kushal Malla, Karan KC and Aarif Sheikh shared a wicket each.