With a 42-run loss against Nepal in their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 encounter, UAE are now out of contention to make a direct entry into the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifier.
Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel won the toss in Dubai and elected to bat first. The side seemed to be in dire straits at 68/5 before Bhim Sharki's 70 led the way for Nepal to 229/8. For UAE, Junaid Siddique (3/53), Aryan Lakra (2/30) and Rohan Mustafa (2/43) were among the wickets.
Nepal set UAE a target of 230 in a must-win game for both teams 🏏
— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2023
Watch #UAEvNEP and all the League 2 action live and FREE on https://t.co/CPDKNxoJ9v 📺
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In response, UAE lost their captain Muhammad Waseem for a duck in the very first over. Though opener Asif Khan (82) and Aryan Lakra (50) gave the side a solid platform, other batters weren't able to capitalize on it. Sompal Kami (3/26) and Dipendra Singh Airee (3/18) were the pick of Nepal bowlers.
This was Nepal's first win over UAE in the CWC 2023 League 2. They had lost each of their previous three encounters against the side.
League 2 ODIs
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The top three sides from League 2 get a direct entry into the World Cup Qualifier. Scotland and Oman have already made it to the World Cup Qualifier.
Before this encounter, UAE and Nepal had 31 and 30 points respectively in the CWC 2023 League 2 table. Having played 31 games each, Nepal and UAE had five games to play in the event.
The scenario for both teams was straightforward: they needed to win all their remaining games to qualify. The successful side would overtake Namibia, who are presently placed third with 39 points out of their 36 matches.
Standings:
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR |
| Scotland (Q) | 36 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 0.647 |
| Oman (Q) | 36 | 21 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 0.039 |
| Namibia | 36 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 0.298 |
| United States of America | 36 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 35 | -0.040 |
| Nepal | 32 | 15 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 32 | -0.186 |
| United Arab Emirates | 32 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 31 | -0.115 |
| Papua New Guinea | 32 | 4 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 9 | -0.726 |
However, a win for Nepal means that only they can now vie for a direct spot in the Qualifier. Even if UAE win all their remaining games, their best tally would be 39 points, which sees them tied with Namibia. But since tie-breakers are decided on the total number of wins in the league, this wouldn’t be good enough to see the side into the top three of the League 2 table.
However, all is not lost for UAE. They will have to go through the Qualifier play-off which will see the bottom four sides of League 2 pitted against the top two Challenge League teams – Canada and Jersey – in order to reach the Qualifier.
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