Kathmandu [Nepal], May 1 : Due to the incessant rainfall, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Premier Cup final between Nepal and UAE will continue on the reserve day, i.e Tuesday to decide the qualifier for the prestigious Asia Cup tournament, scheduled for September this year.
The final match being held at Tribhuwan University Cricket Ground on Monday has been forced to call off before the completion of first innings due to the incessant rainfall.
According to the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the match will resume from 9 AM (Local Time) on Tuesday.
"Today's match has been stopped due to heavy rainfall. The game will continue from the current score on tomorrow's reserve day," said CAN in a tweet.
UAE on Monday was seen struggling at 106-9 at 27.3 overs before the covers were laid over the ground with drizzle slowly turned to downpour at around 11:50 AM (Local Time). The game was called off for the day as it continued to rain for more than 3 hours.
Surrounded by supporters and taking up the benefit of playing on home ground, the Rhinos kept the guests under pressure from the beginning taking wickets at regular intervals.
Opener and skipper Muhammed Waseem was sent back to the bench after scoring just 11 runs in 8 balls. He was caught by Lalit Rajbanshi off Sompal Kami's delivery in 3.1 overs.
Vriitya Aravind, who came in third, became the first victim of Nepal's Karan KC in the very next over, as he was caught behind by Aasif Sheikh.
He put eight runs on the board for the visitors. It took Nepal just four overs to dismiss UAE's Aryan Lakra as he played KC's delivery into the hands of Aarif Sheikh in 8.1 overs. Lakra scored 13 runs.
Nepali bowler Lalit Rajbanshi did not let UAE's Rameez Shahzad (1 run), who came at number four, settle in the crease and got him caught by Gulshan Jha in 9.1 overs. Rajbanshi took his second wicket as he dismissed UAE batter, Rohan Mustafa. Mustafa was caught by Kushal Malla in 13.1 overs scoring two runs.
Basil Hameed was bowled out by Jha in 22.5 overs scoring 10 runs while Aayan Afzal Khan added another five runs on the board and was caught by Malla off Sandeep Lamichhane's delivery in 25.4 overs.
Asif Khan was the only batter in the UAE lineup who caused trouble for the Nepali bowlers. He scored 46 runs off 54 balls with the help of seven hits to the fence and one six. Khan's inning came to a halt after being caught by Aarif off Rajbanshi's delivery in 27.2 overs.
Rajbanshi, in the very next ball, claimed the wicket of Zahoor Khan, who went for a duck, as he was caught by Aarif. The spinner was on a hat-trick when the match was called off for the day.
The outcome of the regional game will open the door for both sides to rub shoulders against the giants of world cricket as the winner of this game will face off with India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup scheduled for September this year. The six-team Asia Cup comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghstan in the other group.
The Rhinos have entered into the final maintaining an unbeaten streak and finishing on top of Group A winning three of its four matches after the fixture against Saudi Arabia was washed out by rain. In the semi-final against Kuwait played on Saturday, an outcome was not possible due to rain and Nepal was declared winners due to their better group stage record over Kuwait, who had made it to the semi-final as Group 'B' runners-up.
UAE also secured the top finish in Group 'B', winning three of its four matches and beating Oman by two runs by D/L method on Saturday to set up a clash against the home team.
Nepal are going through a rich vein of form having won 11 of their last 12 ICC World Cup League 2 Games from February 14 to March 16. The only game Nepal lost was against the UAE when they went down by 68 runs on March 2 at DSC.
On Tuesday also, the weather forecast has predicted rainfall which possibly could hamper the game. Updating status on their Facebook page, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has stated that in case the rainfall makes playing conditions impossible, the teams will play up to two super overs.
If there is still no result, the team that is seeded higher in the ICC ranking will qualify. Such a situation will mean Nepal automatically qualifying for the Asia Cup by virtue of a superior ranking as they are ranked 14th and the UAE is 19th in the ICC Men's ODI rankings.
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