Nepal achieved a comfortable victory as Nepali bowlers proved their mettle in the humid pitch. [break]
Skipper Prithu Baskota decided to field first as the pitch was dampened because of overnight dew. Nepali bowlers bundled UAE for 87 runs in 47.2 overs while Nepal achieved the target in 16.3 overs losing a wicket.
"Toss was important due to the pitch condition and UAE could not perform well. They neither scored runs nor were able to keep the wickets intact," said Nepali Coach Jagat Tamata. "We could have met the target earlier, had our opening pair clicked," added Tamata.
Captain Baskota said,"We expected a tough match but it turned to be relatively easier. However, we should not be overwhelmed. We should continue today´s (Tuesday´s) performance in the upcoming matches.
Krishna Karki started to rattle UAE from the second over of their innings. Faizal Khan caught UAE opener Aqib Malik in the bowling off Karki while Avinash Karn claimed the wicket of Zamin Jaleel in the third over as debutant Rajesh Pulami caught him at the cover.
After losing the wickets early, the UAE could not attack Nepali bowling while Nepali spinners Bhuwan Karki, Rahul Kumar BK and Baskota kept exerting pressure on UAE. UAE had to wait until the 27th over to strike their first boundary and hit only four in the innings.
BK claimed three wickets while Bhuwan Karki sent back two UAE-batsmen to the pavilion. Baskota took a wicket during the course while Krishna Karki and Karn also claimed two each.
In the run chase, Nepal could not open well as opener Subas Khakurel lost his wicket for one run. However, another opener Faizlur (Faizal) Rahman Khan and No 3 Sagar Pun played attacking knocks for taking their side home. They put up unbeaten 80-run partnership for second wickets. Debutant Khan struck unbeaten 46 runs off 47 balls while Pun remained not out with 37 runs.
Nepal´s Faiziur Rahman (Falzal) Khan holds man-of-the-match trophy.
Man of the match Khan hit seven boundaries and a six off Waleed Ahmed´s bowling. Pun faced 43 balls in his innings. He struck consecutive four boundaries in the seventh over of the innings to AE bowler Sathya Narayan Ramesh for 17 runs.
Nepal will take on Oman in another match of group ´B´ on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan thrashed hosts Thailand by 249 runs in another group ´B´ battle on Tuesday. Afghanistan put up 326/8 and restricted Thailand for 77 runs
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