Nepal will have a day with destiny after they scripted history to secure a first-ever berth at the Asia Cup having won the ACC Mens Premier Cup 2023. Nepal who have never played in a premier continental championship will play former World Champions India and Pakistan during the Asia Cup slated for September this year. A seven-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, May 2 saw them clinch the title of ACC Mens Premier Cup and thereby clinch the final berth.

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Playing at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Nepal it was a winner takes all contest with a place in the final up for grabs. Having won the toss, Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel decided to bowl first in the hot conditions, which proved to be a masterstroke for the hosts. Lalit Rajbanshi and former skipper Sandeep Lamichhane were seen in devastating form with the ball which saw UAE make a poor start and were bowled out for 117 in just 33.1 overs.

Rajbanshi scalped four wickets while Lamichhane and Karan KC ended with two wickets each to break the visitor’s back. Gulsan Jha and Sompal Kami also ended with a wicket each for the hosts while Asif Khan top-scored with 46 for UAE.

In response, Nepal made a poor start to the chase and lost opener Kushal Bhurtel (1) in just the second over to give UAE hope. This was quickly followed by Aasif Sheikh’s dismissal and captain Rohit Paudel soon followed to leave the hosts at 22/3. However, well-played knocks from Gulsan Jha and Bhim Sharki saw the hosts through to a historic win as they put together an unbeaten stand of 96 runs to win the contest for Nepal.

Jha scored an unbeaten 67 off 84 deliveries while Sharki ended with an unbeaten 36 to be the architecture of the win as Nepal chased the target in 30.3 overs. Rohan Mustafa scalped two wickets for the UAE but was not enough to stop Nepal from securing their first-ever Asia Cup qualification.

Nepal will now play India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup group stage and will need to be at their fluent best against the former World Champions in September.

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