Dream run

This is the time to thank Team Nepal for giving each of us a rare reason to jump for joy.

Even the gods seemed to be in favour of the Nepali national men’s cricket team on Thursday as they beat the UAE by nine runs on D/L method. Chasing an improbable target of 310 in 50 overs, they were tottering at 181 for the loss of five wickets at the end of the 31st over before the trio of Bhim Sharki (67), Aarif Sheikh (52) and Gulshan Jha (50*) came to Nepal’s miraculous rescue, sending the country into raptures. But even with their gritty knocks, the team could still have struggled to stitch together the remaining 52 runs had the game gone the distance. But then darkness descended on the Tribhuvan University cricket ground and Nepal was declared victorious at the end of the 44th over.