Nepal clinched the ACC Men’s Premier Cup and earning them a spot in the Asia Cup 2023. The Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground at Kirtipur hosted the showpiece final, which saw the home side led by Rohit Paudel defeat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by seven wickets.
As a result, Nepal was added to Group A of the Asia Cup which is in talks to get underway in September. Nepal have been grouped along with India and Pakistan. At the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in July, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman will also compete against “A” teams made up of five full-member teams.
India, Pakistan And Nepal in the same group for Asia Cup 2023.#Pakistan #India #Nepal #cricket #AsiaCup2023
Cricket News World 🎩 pic.twitter.com/eNo7PHIxlB— CricTick (@Mdraikot45) May 3, 2023
The ACC Men’s Premier Cup final, which was postponed due to rainfall in the first game, took place on a Reserve Day. After receiving the opportunity to bat first, UAE got themselves into a lot of trouble after their first day’s innings saw them dropped to 106 with the loss of nine wickets.
NEPAL ARE THE CHAMPIONS.
They will be playing against India & Pakistan in September – A historic moment in world cricket.#Pakistan #India pic.twitter.com/iXw2Juktb4
— Sports News 🆕 (@AliAbdullah9583) May 2, 2023
UAE were able to score as much as 117 runs in the first innings as not a single batter was able to score a half-century. The highest scorer in the team was Asif Khan who scored 45 off 54 balls. However, Nepal’s bowling unit produced a great performance.
Lalit Rajbanshi led from the front and collected 4 wickets while star Leg-spinner Sandip Lamichhane took 2 wickets. Karan KC, Sompal Kami and Gulshan Jha picked up the remaining 4 wickets. In response, Nepal chased down the entire total by the 31st over through a half-century by Gulshan Jha.
So with this win, Nepal will play in this year’s and will be grouped alongside India and Pakistan for this year’s Asia Cup. BCCI secretary and Asian Cricket Council’s President Jay Shah took to twitter and congratulated Nepal for their historic victory.
The ACC Men's Premier Cup has been won by @CricketNep after several fiercely contested games and earned a spot in the Men's Asia Cup 2023!
Congratulations to everyone who put on a fantastic performance. @ACCMedia1 #ACCMensPremierCup pic.twitter.com/3vpkWRNHS2— Jay Shah (@JayShah) May 2, 2023
“The ACC Men’s Premier Cup has been won by @CricketNep after several fiercely contested games and earned a spot in the Men’s Asia Cup 2023! Congratulations to everyone who put on a fantastic performance.” – Jay Shah wrote. Â
Since then Nepali cricket fans have flooded Jay Shah’s post with requests of solving the matter between India and Pakistan for the hosting rights of Asia Cup 2023. There is still not enough clarity regarding this issue as BCCI are saying they will not send team India to Pakistan for the tournament, demanding for a neutral venue and PCB in response have said that India will have to come for the Asia Cup otherwise Pakistan will also opt out of the ICC Cricket World cup in October.
For Nepal, playing in the Intercontinental Asia Cup itself is a huge achievement and in case the Asia Cup gets cancelled for the hosting reasons then it will be a massive blow for the Nepalis.
