Nepal recorded a dominating seven-wicket win over United Arab Emirates in the final of the ACC Premier Cup 2023 on Tuesday, May 2. A win also helped Nepal to secure a final spot in the Asia Cup 2023 which is scheduled to take place in September 2023.
The left-arm spinner Lalit Rajbanshi took four wickets and the former skipper Sandeep Lamichhane picked two for 34 to bowl out UAE on just 117 runs while bowling first. Nepal lost openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh and star captain Rohit Paudel with just 22 runs on the scoreboard as UAE seemed the favorite to defend the total.
But Gulshan Jha, the 17-year-old pace all-rounder, played a match-winning knock after being promoted to the no.3 position. Gulshan scored 67* off 84 as he added an unbeaten 96-run stand with Bhim Sharki for the fourth wicket. This was Gulshan’s highest score in international cricket and the only second fifty. He bagged the Player of the Match award while Lamichhane was awarded the Player of the Series award for his contribution with 13 wickets from just four innings.
Nepal sealed the last remaining spot for the Asia Cup 2023 and will be entering the tournament for the first time. Hong Kong made their debut in the tournament during the Asia Cup T20 2022 but failed to retain a spot in the fifty-over edition of the tournament. Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh have directly qualified due to their ICC full-member status.
Nepal will be slotted in Group A alongside giants India and Pakistan with the latter hosting the mega tournament. Nepal, UAE, and Oman also qualified for the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023, where they will face A teams from five full members from Asia in July.
