The 17 year-old Gulshan Jha struck a measured, unbeaten 67 for hosts Nepal to see the home side to a seven wicket win over the UAE on the reserve day of a rain-interrupted ACC Premier Cup final at Kathmandu. The victory sees Nepal secure the sole qualifying berth for this years’ Asia Cup, currently scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in September
Resuming the match from where the rain had seen play suspended yesterday with the UAE at 106-9, Lalit Rajbanshi completed his excellent work from yesterday by taking the final requisite wicket to finish with figures of 4-14 and see the UAE all out for just 117. Nepal stuttered early in the chase, losing both openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh and captain Rohit Paudel cheaply. But the promotion of left-handed all-rounder Jha to number three proved an astute move for the hosts, and with support from Bhim Sharki the teenager steadied the innings and then countered, the pair’s unbroken 96-run fourth wicket partnership seeing Nepal home in 30.3 overs, well before the rain returned.
The specification of a play-through reserve day meant the match was continued from yesterday rather than played afresh, meaning the UAE began the day with last wicket pair Junaid Siddique and Karthik Meiyappan in the middle, and Rajbanshi started on a hat-trick. Siddique survived the hat-trick ball first up despite a speculative stumping appeal, but did not temper his game to the circumstances, hitting Rajbanshi for a towering straight six in the fifth over of the day before holing out to Bhurtel at long on in Rajbanshi’s next to end the innings.
Yesterday new-ball pair Sompal Kami and Karan KC had removed the UAE top three in short order, and the home spinners had built on their good work. Rajbanshi and Sandeep Lamichhane took full advantage of a wicket that was starting to offer turn, as well Emirati batsmen at times overly willing to offer up their wickets. Only number six Asif Khan offered serious resistance, striking a 54-ball 46 before falling to Rajbanshi on the penultimate ball before the rain came.
The weather threatened to return again today, and both sides looked in the grip of extreme urgency as Nepal commenced their chase. With the pitch increasingly offering turn the UAE began with spin at both ends, Aayaan Khan and Rohan Mustafa both rushing back to their marks each ball knowing that if 20 overs weren’t bowled before the rain Nepal would progress by default. The batters’ apparent hurry was less explicable however, Bhurtel sweeping from the off and failing to connect repeatedly, finally pinned in front by Mustafa with the eighth delivery of the innings, before Aasif Sheikh likewise missed a sweep and was struck on the pad by left arm spinner Aayan Khan, drawing the umpire’s finger.
Khan beat Paudel’s outside edge with the next three balls, and perhaps looking to target the off-spinner at the other end the Nepal skipper also lost his wicket needlessly. Backing away to cut Mustafa and chopping on in the next overs, the home skipper left his side in something of a state at 3-22. The move of promoting the left-handed Jha up the order to counter Ayaan was a sound one however, and almost every errant ball was put away.
The left handers’ presence also seemed to deter UAE captain Waseem from turning to his legspinner, and when he finally did take the gamble to bring on Karthik Meiyyapan, it did not pay off for the tourists. Jha got after the legspinner taking him for 16 runs in the 18th and effectively putting the game to bed. Jha would see off Mustafa, who finished with figures of 2-13 from his ten, before going to fifty with a rare false shot inside edging Basil Hameed across his stumps in the 28th.
From there he and Sharki wasted little time in taking Nepal home however, finishing the match in style just three overs later. Jha tied the scores with a booming lofted drive over mid-off for six of Aayan Khan, then swept the next round the corner, calling Sharki through for a hurried single and a seven wicket win.
The victory earns Nepal a place at what would be their first Asia Cup, drawn alongside Pakistan and India as the groups currently stand. The UAE will have to content themselves with a berth at the ACC Emerging Teams Cup, for which they qualify along with Nepal and third-placed Oman.
