KATHMANDU: Home side Nepal thrashed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the reserve day of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Premier Cup final and booked a spot in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023.
Nepal will now take the last slot in the Group A of the continental event, which features arch-rivals India.
Young all-rounder Gulsha Jha starred for Nepal in the historic victory as he first returned with brilliant figures of 1/10 before following it up with a gritty 67-run knock in pursuit of a modest total, made difficult by UAE’s strong spin-bowling attack.
Batting first, UAE could pile up 117 runs despite Asif Khan’s sensible 46 as the rest of their batters failed to contribute significantly.
Lalit Rajbanshi was the pick of the bowlers for Nepal as he returned with astounding figures of 4/14.
The 16th edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to be hosted in Pakistan in September,
What a moment for Nepal Cricket! 😍
A top effort against UAE has not only given them the #ACCMensPremierCup trophy but has helped them to qualify for the Men's Asia Cup 2023! 👏
Congratulations to the Nepal Cricket Team! 🤗#ACC #NEPALvsUAE pic.twitter.com/x5e3ha4kOy
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) May 2, 2023
While Group 1 includes, Pakistan, Nepal, and India. Group 2 will feature defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage of the tournament, similar to last year’s format. The 2023 edition, however, will see the competition returning to the ODI format.
It must be noted that in October last year Pakistani cricket authorities hinted they may pull out of next year’s World Cup in India, a day after Indian officials there said they would not send a team to the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan.
Indian cricket board secretary Jay Shah had said that India “can’t” send a team to Pakistan, adding the tournament would be moved to a neutral venue.
His announcement caught Pakistan by surprise, with officials warning it could “split” the international cricket community.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Shah’s comments “can impact Pakistan’s visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC Events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle”.
The Pakistan board said it has not received any official communication from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), and noted that hosting rights for the 2023 Asia Cup had been given to Pakistan under Shah’s leadership.
Despite being considered one of sport’s greatest rivalries, India and Pakistan have not met on home soil in any version of the game since 2012, and only play each other in multinational tournaments on neutral grounds.
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