Sport : Khakurel stars as Nepal beats UAE

Zeeshan Maqsood leads batting effort as Oman registers 74-run win against Malaysia in ACC Premier League

Gyanendra Malla scored 47 and added 66 runs for the second wicket with Subash Khakurel, as Nepal beat UAE by four wickets.

Zeeshan Maqsood’s 108-ball 77, coupled with all-round efforts from Aamir Kaleem, the left-arm spinner, and Zeeshan Siddiqui, helped Oman secure a 74-run win against Malaysia in the Asian Cricket Council Premier League at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday (May 1). Maqsood’s knock helped Oman to a competitive 269 for 6 in 50 overs, before Malaysia folded for 195 in 40.2 overs, with Kaleem and Siddiqui taking six wickets between them.

Maqsood first put on 68 for the opening wicket with Siddiqui (28) in 18 overs, before adding 94 more with Arif Hussain (44). He was bowled by Hassan Ghulam’s right-arm pace bowling off the first ball of the 37th over, with the score on 174 for 3. Kaleem then helped Oman finish things off well, with an unbeaten 42 off 41 balls.

Ghulam was expensive, leaking 72 runs in his quota of ten overs. But, he made up for it by picking up four important wickets.

Ahmed Faiz, the captain, anchored Malaysia’s chase after it lost Anwar Arudin off the third ball of the innings. Faiz added 63 for the second wicket with Nasir Shafiq (28), but thereafter, was left fighting a lone battle. Khizar Hayat (32 off 31 balls) joined him for a 41-run stand for the sixth wicket, but once Faiz departed for a fighting 90-ball 70, it was only a matter of time before Malaysia was bowled out.

Kaleem’s ten overs fetched him impressive figures of 3 for 37, while Siddiqui took 3 for 24 in four overs.

At the Selangor Turf Club, Sompal Kami and Mahaboob Alam, who opened the bowling for Nepal, helped their team bowl UAE out for 191 in 48.1 overs, before Subash Khakurel, the wicketkeeper batsman, led the chase with a 91-ball 71, as Nepal emerged victorious with four wickets in hand.

UAE’s innings rode on the back of a 95-ball 76 from Swapnil Patil, the wicketkeeper, who walked in with the team on 37 for 3. Krishnachandran Karate and Mohammad Shahzad chipped in with useful knocks of 36 and 25 respectively, before UAE was bowled out in the 49th over.

Kami finished with 3 for 39 from 9.1 overs, while Alam’s eight overs fetched him figures of 3 for 21.

Nepal lost Naresh Budayair early in the innings before Khakurel and Gyanendra Malla (47) led the recovery with second wicket stand worth 66 runs. Paras Khadka (30), the captain, then joined Khakurel for a 59-run stand, before Khakurel added a further 38 with Sharad Vesawkar. By the time Khakurel departed in the 32nd over, Nepal was within touching distance of a win, with just 23 needed, and it eventually went past the line in 39.5 overs.

Fayyaz Ahmed, the left-arm spinner, was the best bowler for UAE, with figures of 2 for 49 in 9.5 overs.