UAE and Nepal into ACC final
UAE and Nepal won their respective semi-finals on Wednesday to secure their places in Friday's ACC Trophy Elite final.
UAE hammered Afghanistan by eight wickets at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in a major upset.
Tournament favourites Afghanistan were bowled out for just 70 in Dubai after their decision to bat first backfired in a big way. Only two batsmen reached double figures as the innings never recovered from the loss of three wickets in the first eight overs.
Shadeep Silva (3-16) and Ahmed Raza (3-6) were the pick of the bowlers but all of the UAE attack performed above expectations as the recent ICC World Twenty20 competitors were dismissed in just 30.4 overs.
Afghanistan needed to bowl out of their skin to pull off a miraculous comeback and when Shapoor Zadran picked up a wicket in the first over there was hope of a miracle. Mohammad Nabi claimed a second victim at 26 but no further wickets fell as UAE eased home in 23.4 overs. Haroon Iftikhar (34 not out) and Shaiman Anwar (22 not out) put on an unbeaten 45 for the third wicket to complete one of the greatest days in the history of UAE cricket.
Nepal beat Malaysia in more close-caught encounter at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. In a match reduced to 45-overs-per-side due to fog, Nepal made 241-9 thanks to another captain's innings from Paras Khadka. The right-hander struck 89 off 96 balls with good support from Gyanendra Malla (34) in a third-wicket stand of 112.
Sharad Vesawkar (37) and Prithu Baskota (34) kept up the tempo in the closing overs to ensure Malaysia would have a daunting run-chase ahead of them. Nazril Rahman was the star with the ball, taking 4-37.
Five batsmen scored between 23 and 42 in the reply but the run-rate kept advancing with Nepal taking wickets at regular intervals. Captain Suhan Kumar (43) and Shafiq Sharif (42) fell within four overs towards the end to signal the end of Malaysia's challenge. Prithu Baskota was Nepal's leading wicket-taker with 3-47.
Nepal can now look forward to in Friday's ACC Trophy Elite final against UAE at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
In other games, Saudi Arabia claimed their first win of the competition to defeat Bhutan by seven wickets and take ninth place. Bhutan were bowled out for 165 in 37 overs after being put into bat. Several of Bhutan's top order got starts but no one could go past Suprit Pradhan's 38. Javaid Iqbal (3-30) struck early and then returned to pick up the last two wickets and Mohammad Ramzan (4-38) took out the middle order. Openers Nadeem Al-Nadwi (53 off 28 balls) and Javaid Iqbal (32) added 77 for the first wicket as Saudi Arabia made light work of the reply. Mohammad Afzal (59 not out off 47 balls) hastened the side to victory with 28 overs unused.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong finished fifth at the expense of Oman following an eventful match at Al Dhaid Cricket Village.
Hong Kong collapsed to 59-7 before recovering to 213 on the back of a remarkable counter-attack from No.8 Tanwir Afzal, who smashed 106 off 78 balls (nine fours, eight sixes). Mudassar Hussain leant him good support in an eighth-wicket stand of 142. Khalid Rahseed had earlier put Oman on top with 4-31.
Oman's prospects looked bleak at 40-4 but Jatinder Singh (45) and Aamir Kaleem (63 not out) led the recovery. Hong Kong kept chipping away and at 170-8 they appeared set to push home their advantage. Rajeshkumar Ranpura (22) then revived Oman's hopes but he was the last man to fall to give Hong Kong a seven-run victory with seven balls to go.
Finally, Kuwait took seventh place thanks to a seven-wicket victory over Maldives.
