All-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee cracked a half century for Nepal as they overcame hosts Oman by six wickets in the curtain raiser of the Oman Quadrangular Twenty20 International Series at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Muscat on Friday.

The player-of-the-match Airee hit an unbeaten 73 off 53 for Nepal who also registered their first T20I victory over the home team among two matches played. Chasing the 136-run target, Airee struck boundaries to Mohammad Nadeem in the first and third deliveries of the last over before collecting a double in the second ball as Nepal made 137-4. The 22-year-old also hit the second T20I half century of his career and highest individual score in the shortest format.

The series also featuring Ireland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is played to fine tune the team's preparation for the ICC World T20 Global Qualifiers set to take place in Oman from February 18 to 24.

Inviting Oman to bat first in the first match played under the captaincy of Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal put the home team under pressure after removing openers Kashyap Prajapati for 11 runs and Jatinder Singh for 13 runs with 2-24 on board.

Prajapati was bowled by medium pacer Abinash Bohara in the last delivery of the third over while Singh was caught by wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh off his brother Aarif. Oman lost the next two wickets of Shoaib Khan and Ayaan Khan for equal 11 runs each as they were struggling at 4-58 in the 10th over.

But captain Zeeshan Maqsood and Mohammad Nadeem played a 61-run partnership for the fifth wicket to lift the innings and wrap up at 135-6. Maqsood played an unbeaten knock of 43-ball 41 that included four boundaries and a six. Nadeem contributed 30 off 31 that comprised two fences before being caught by Sharad Vesawkar off Bohara.

Bohara was the pick of the bowling claiming three wickets in his four over spell conceding 26 runs. Captain Lamichhane, Aarif Sheikh and Kamal Airee pocketed one wicket each. Debutant spinner Sagar Dhaka conceded 36 runs in his three-over bowling. Apart from him all-rounder Bivek Yadav also marked his debut in the national side. He gave away five runs in his single over bowling.

Chasing the target, Nepal too made a shaky start to their innings as they lost openers Pradeep Airee for four runs and Aasif Sheikh for 14 runs. They were both dismissed in the fourth over as Airee was caught by wicketkeeper Naseem Khushi and Sheikh by Shoaib Khan in delivery by medium pacer Kaleemullah.

Former captain Gyanendra Malla, who came to bat at number three, was run out for 13 runs off 16. But Airee rescued the innings with an unbeaten knock that included eight fences and a six. He also crossed the 500 runs milestone in T20I from 23 innings.

Airee and Aarif Sheikh, who contributed 25 runs, shared a 45-run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter was caught by Khurram Nawaz off Khawar Ali delivery in the 18th over. Veteran Sharad Vesawakar remained unbeaten on four runs.

Nepal will vie with UAE in the early fixture on Saturday while Oman will take on Ireland in the late match of the day.