Nepal Wins Third Men's ACC Premier Cup Title

Kathmandu. Nepal has won the title of the third edition of the Men's ACC Premier Cup. Nepal became the title winner after defeating UAE in the final match played on Saturday. With the title of ACC Premier Cup, Nepal has qualified for the Asia Cup to be held in Bangladesh in 2027. UAE, chasing a target of 314 runs set by Nepal, could only score 205 runs in 48.3 overs, losing 8 wickets. UAE's Rahul Chopra scored 80 runs but could not lead the team to victory. Sohaib Khan scored a half-century with 52 runs off 57 balls. Similarly, Tanish Suri scored 42 runs off 28 balls and Harpreet Singh scored 33 runs off 41 balls. Karan KC took 3, Lalit Rajbanshi took 2, Sandeep Lamichhane, Rohitkumar Paudel, Gulshan Jha, Deependra Singh Airee took 1 wicket each. Earlier, batting after winning the toss at the Bayumas Cricket Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nepal scored 313 runs for the loss of 9 wickets with opener Aasif Sheikh's century. Nepal's Aasif Sheikh played a century innings of 102 runs off 106 balls. Similarly, Gulshan Jha scored a half-century with 52 runs off 38 balls. Arjun Kumal scored 43 runs off 63 balls and Rohitkumar Paudel scored 40 runs off 44 balls. UAE's Abrar Ahmed took 4, Khujaima Tanveer took 2, Haider Ali and Adib Usmani took 1 wicket each. Nepal and UAE also played in the final of 2023. Nepal had defeated UAE by 7 wickets at that time. Nepal will now play the ODI Asia Cup for the second time. In the 2023 Asia Cup, Nepal played against India and Pakistan in the group stage. Both Nepal and UAE have already qualified for the Emerging Teams Asia Cup.