Nepal beat UAE in low-scoring ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 fixture
Nepal vs UAE (Source: @Cricketnep on X)
Published - 25 Apr 2026, 03:57 PM• Read time - 12 mins
UAE suffered a heartrending 37-run loss to Nepal in an ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 2023/24-2027 fixture in Kirtipur on Saturday, April 25. Chasing merely 201 to win in 50 overs, none of the UAE batters could really kick on and make a big one to take the team over the line.
UAE lost their top three batters (Aryansh Sharma, Adeeb Usmani and Muhammad Shahdad) inside the first 10 overs of their chase. All three of them were pinned in front of their stumps, with Dipendra Singh Airee dismissing Aryansh (18 off 29) and Karan KC accounting for the wicketkeeper batter Usmani and Shahdad.
Harpreet Singh (39 off 52) and Akshdeep Nath (30 off 53) added 34 runs for the fourth wicket to give some semblance of normalcy. Harpreet was the aggressor in the partnership as he hit five boundaries and batted at a strike rate of 75.00.
Lalit Rajbanshi broke the partnership in the 19th over to bring Nepal back into the hunt. Then came the biggest stand of the day for the visitors as skipper Muhammad Waseem joined hands with Akshdeep. The duo added 53 runs for the fifth wicket and gradually looked like taking the game away before Nepal clawed back momentum again.
Pacer Sompal Kami came back into the attack, and his double whammy literally strangulated UAE's chase. He dismissed both Akshdeep and Waseem in a space of 13 balls and put Nepal in the driver's seat.
Nilansh Keswani (18 off 33) tried to put up a fight but couldn't achieve anything substantial as UAE were bundled out for 163 in 48.2 overs.
Karan was the pick of all the Nepal bowlers with figures of 4/19. Sandeep Lamichhane and Kami bagged two wickets apiece.
Earlier in the day, Waseem chose to field first, and his bowlers were up to the task. Ajay Kumar (3/34) and Junaid Siddique (3/33) ran riot and demolished Nepal's batting order.
Most of Nepal's batters got starts, but none of them could really kick on and make it count, except for Dipendra Singh Airee. Player of the Match (POTM) Airee scored a resilient 90-ball 75, laced with five fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 83.33.
His innings propelled the hosts to a respectable total before getting bundled out in 48.2 overs.
ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 2023/24-2027 Points Table
| Rank | Team | Matches (M) | Wins (W) | Losses (L) | Ties (T) | No Result (N/R) | Points (PTS) | Net Run Rate (NRR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0.939 |
| 2 | Scotland | 28 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 34 | 0.918 |
| 3 | Oman | 24 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 0.075 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 24 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 0.165 |
| 5 | Namibia | 28 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 22 | -0.491 |
| 6 | Canada | 24 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 21 | -0.209 |
| 7 | Nepal | 21 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 14 | -0.231 |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | 21 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -1.207 |
