Nepal progressed to the final of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup after defending a low total against Oman at Bayuemas Cricket Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.

Oman had won the toss and invited Nepal to bat first. Oman’s decision to field first yielded a good result, as they were able to restrict Nepal to a paltry 147 in 45.4 overs.

Head coach Stuart Law and ODI skipper Sandeep Lamichhane sent Dev Khanal as the opener alongside Aasif Sheikh. Previously, Arjun Kumal was opening for the team across the tournament. Meanwhile, Kumal was dropped in the semis, and was replaced by all-rounder Bashir Ahmad.

Sheikh and Khanal could not do enough, departing at 11 off 21 and 13 off 19, respectively. Ishan Pandey, who smashed 90 off 106 against Hong Kong in Nepal’s previous match, could only open his account (1 off 8) before departing as the third wicket.

Rohit Kumar Paudel (3 off 8) was the fourth wicket to fall. Nepal were 36/4 in 11.2 overs.

And then came Ahmad to the rescue, alongside star all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee.

Ahmad and Airee built a 93-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Ahmad, who smashed three fours and the only six by Nepal in the match, fell short of three runs for his half-century, departing at 47 off 88 in 35.5 overs. Nepal were then at 129.

But Nepal’s hopes for a defendable total vanished when Airee departed—not before completing his fifty—as the sixth wicket in 37.2 overs, leaving the total at 130. Airee, with the help of four fours, scored 51 off 76.

Nepal lost their remaining wickets in the next few overs—getting bundled at 147 in 45.4 overs.

It was not a defendable total. Nepal had never defended a target below 190 in one-day cricket.

On Thursday, however, Nepal not only defended 148; they did it in a solid fashion. Oman were all out for 60 runs in 28.1 overs, and Nepal won it by 87 runs—the Rhinos’ fifth-largest win by runs in ODIs.

It was the spinners who won it for Nepal. Skipper Lamichhane and Airee bagged three wickets each, while Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi and Paudel picked two each.

Oman’s skipper Jatinder Singh top-scored with 25 off 41, followed by Jiten Ramanandi’s 13 off 42. No other Omani batter scored in double figures.

“The boys showed their character today despite being under pressure,” Lamichhane said after the win. “If we can give an extra percent in our hard work in the final, we will win it too.”

Nepal will play the UAE in the final—for the trophy and qualification to the Asia Cup—at Bayuemas Cricket Oval on September 12.