Chennai, Feb 3 (.) Thanks to unbeaten half centuries by Dipendra Singh Airee
and Aarif Sheikh Nepal overcame a top order collapse to thrash United Arab Emirates
(UAE) by seven wickets in the World Cup T20 warm up cricket match at the historic
Chepauk stadium here tonight.
Set a target of 146 after restricting their rivals by picking wickets at regular intervals,
Nepal lost both the openers inside the first four overs and were struggling at 45 for 3
in the seventh over, before Dipendra and Aarif came together to guide the team cross
the finishing line with three overs to spare.
Diependra, who remained unbeaten on 50 in 31 balls hitting four fours and a six and
Aaarif, who hammered eight fours and two sixers in his 37-ball 61, added 103 runs
for the unbroken fourth wicket in 10.1 overs to ensure Nepal won the contest without
any further hiccups.
Earlier, asked to bat first, UAE last five wickets by 11 overs, before the late middleorder
staged the recovery act, to finish at 145 for six
Except opener and wicket-keeper Aryansh Sharma, who scored 25 in 17 balls with three
fours and a six, there was no major contributions from either the top order or the middle
order as half of the side was back in the dug out.
With the side reeling at 66 for five in the 12th over, Harshit Kaushik, coming in at No.six,
struck a breezy 35 in 24 balls with three fours and two sixers and added crucial 68 runs
for the sixth wicket in 5.5 overs with No.7 batter Shoaib Khan to lent some respectability
to the total.
After Harshit fell off the last ball of the penultimate over, Shoaib Khan, ensured that the team
scored 11 runs in the final over, by remaining unconquered on 38 (27 balls, 3×4, 1×6) as UAE
finished their innings at 145 for six, which was easily overhauled by Nepal with 18 balls to
spare, despite the stuttering by the top order.
For Nepal, medium pacer KC Karan and leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane picked up two wickets
each.
. GV 2015