KATHMANDU: Nepal secured a comfortable victory in their first warm-up match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, defeating the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by seven wickets today.

Chasing a target of 146 runs after losing the toss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai in India, Nepal reached the total in 17 overs with the loss of just three wickets.

Aarif Sheikh and Dipendra Singh Airee starred in Nepal’s chase with unbeaten half-centuries. Aarif scored an unbeaten 61 off 37 balls, hitting eight fours and two sixes, while vice-captain Airee remained unbeaten on 50 off 31 balls, which included four fours and one six.

Captain Rohit Paudel scored 16 runs before being run out. Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel contributed eight runs each.

For UAE, Mohammad Rohid bowled economically, conceding 13 runs in three overs and taking one wicket.

Earlier, batting first, UAE posted 145 runs for the loss of six wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Soheb Khan top-scored with 38 runs, followed by Harshit Kaushik with 35. Aryans Sharma made 25 runs, Mohammad Zohaib added 19, and Alishan Sharafu chipped in with 12.

For Nepal, Sandeep Lamichhane and Karan KC claimed two wickets each, while Dipendra Singh Airee picked up one. #nepal #cricket