Nepal registered a three-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates ‘A’ in the ongoing ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 being played at Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Opting to bat first, the UAE ‘A’ had set a 158-run target losing all of their wickets in 44 overs.

In response, the Rhinos completed the chase in 23 overs losing seven wickets.

Nepal lost the wicket of opener Arjun Saud in the first ball of the Nepali innings. He was trapped leg-before by Muhammad Jawadullah.

However, Saud’s opening partner Kushal Bhurtel cracked a half-century and played a 98-run partnership with Dev Khanal to help Nepal reach a comfortable position.

Bhurtel scored 71 runs playing 43 deliveries with the help of four maximums and nine hits to the fence. He was caught by Fahad Nawaz off Mohammed Faraazuddin in 12.6 overs.

Two overs later in 14.5 overs, Faraazuddin trapped Khanal leg-before. Khanal contributed 24 runs.

Sundeep Jora also hit 24 runs before being caught by Aryansh Sharma off Jawadullah’s delivery in 16.2 overs.

Skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel (9 runs), Gulshan Jha (11 runs) and Pawan Sarraf, who failed to open his score account, gave away their wickets in a span of three overs

Kushal Malla (2 runs) and Pratis GC (8 runs) saw off Nepal across the finish line guiding Nepal to their first victory in the tournament.

For UAE, opener Lovepreet Singh cracked a half-century as he smashed six hits to the fence and a six, scoring an 82-ball 52. He was caught by Jora off Bhurtel in 25.5 overs.

Aryansh Sharma put up 14 runs on the scoreboard in his 30-knock play before being caught by Sarraf off Malla.

Ethan D’Souza scored 18 runs facing 25 deliveries. He smashed two boundaries and a six before he was trapped leg before by Bhurtel.

Similarly, Ashwanth Valthapa scored a 32-ball 16 before being dismissed in 33.3 overs.

Jash Giyanani contributed 13 runs off 25 balls. He was caught by Malla off Shyam Dhakal in 43.2 overs.

For the Rhinos, Bhurtel claimed six Emirati scalps while Mousom Dhakal dismissed two UAE batters. Kushal Malla and Pawan Sarraf also took a wicket a piece.