Rohit Paudel’s 67-Run Stand Ends as Nepal Set Pace vs UAE in CWC League 2

Nepal vs United Arab Emirates in the ICC CWC League 2 brought another tense chase-and-counter moment at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, with UAE bowlers keeping a tight grip as Nepal pushed forward late in their innings. Nepal’s batting continued through the closing overs, and the score moved from 74/2 at 17.3 overs to 109/3 at 23.4 overs, before the final ball-by-ball sequence in the provided coverage ended.

Playing XIs and toss

For Nepal, the squad was: Arjun Kumal, Binod Bhandari, Bhim Sharki, Rohit Paudel, Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, and Lalit Rajbanshi.

For the United Arab Emirates, the side featured: Aryansh Sharma, Adeeb Usmani, Muhammad Shahdad, Harpreet Singh, Akshdeep Nath, Muhammad Waseem, Khuzaima Tanveer, Muhammad Zuhaib, Junaid Siddique, Haider Ali, and Ajay Kumar.

Nepal won the toss and opted to bat first against UAE, signaling they wanted to set the tempo and put early pressure on the scoreboard.

Head-to-head and tournament context

Both teams arrived with closely matched histories, though Nepal held a narrow 10-8 advantage in 18 ODIs. Nepal are ranked 17th, sitting just above UAE who are placed 20th. Over the past year, Nepal won 4 of 10 matches (40%), while UAE won 4 of 11 (36.36%).

In the run-scoring charts, Dipendra Singh Airee led Nepal with 428 runs, while Sandeep Lamichhane topped their wicket list with 18. For UAE, Aryansh Sharma scored 378 runs, and Junaid Siddique was the leading wicket-taker with 18.

Innings timeline: Nepal’s innings ball-by-ball (as provided)

1. 17.1 overs: Haider Ali to Binod Bhandari, no run, played towards covers. Nepal 73/2.
2. 17.2 overs: Haider Ali to Binod Bhandari, no run, played towards covers. Nepal 73/2.
3. 17.3 overs: Haider Ali to Binod Bhandari, 1 run, played towards square leg. Nepal 74/2.
4. 17.4 overs: Haider Ali to Rohit Paudel, no run, played towards mid off. Nepal 74/2.
5. 17.5 overs: Haider Ali to Rohit Paudel, no run, played towards mid off. Nepal 74/2.
6. 17.6 overs: Haider Ali to Rohit Paudel, 1 run, played towards mid off. Nepal 75/2.
7. 18.1 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Rohit Paudel, four, played towards third man. Nepal 79/2.
8. 18.2 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Rohit Paudel, 1 run, played towards mid off. Nepal 80/2.
9. 18.3 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, no run, played towards point. Nepal 80/2.
10. 18.4 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, 1 run, played towards square leg. Nepal 81/2.
11. 18.5 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Rohit Paudel, 1 run, played towards mid off. Nepal 82/2.
12. 18.6 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, no run, played towards mid off. Nepal 82/2.
13. 19.1 overs: Junaid Siddique to Rohit Paudel, 1 run, played towards square leg. Nepal 83/2.
14. 19.2 overs: Junaid Siddique to Binod Bhandari, no run. Nepal 83/2.
15. 19.3 overs: Junaid Siddique to Binod Bhandari, 1 run, played towards square leg. Nepal 84/2.
16. 19.4 overs: Junaid Siddique to Rohit Paudel, no run, played towards covers. Nepal 84/2.
17. 19.5 overs: Junaid Siddique to Rohit Paudel, 2 runs, played towards covers. Nepal 86/2.
18. 19.6 overs: Junaid Siddique to Rohit Paudel, 1 run, played towards mid wicket. Nepal 87/2.
19. 20.1 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Rohit Paudel, 1 run, played towards point. Nepal 88/2.
20. 20.2 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, 1 run, played towards mid off. Nepal 89/2.
21. 20.3 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Rohit Paudel, 1 run, played towards covers. Nepal 90/2.
22. 20.4 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, four, played towards mid off. Nepal 94/2.
23. 20.5 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, 1 run, played towards mid off. Nepal 95/2.
24. 20.6 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Rohit Paudel, 1 run, played towards mid wicket. Nepal 96/2.
25. 21.1 overs: Junaid Siddique to Rohit Paudel, no run, played towards covers. Nepal 96/2.
26. 21.2 overs: Junaid Siddique to Rohit Paudel, OUT! c Muhammad Shahdad b Junaid Siddique. Nepal 96/2 to 96/3.
27. 21.3 overs: Junaid Siddique to Dipendra Singh Airee, no run, played towards covers. Nepal 96/3.
28. 21.4 overs: Junaid Siddique to Dipendra Singh Airee, no run, played towards covers. Nepal 96/3.
29. 21.5 overs: Junaid Siddique to Dipendra Singh Airee, no run, played towards point. Nepal 96/3.
30. 21.6 overs: Junaid Siddique to Dipendra Singh Airee, no run. Nepal 96/3.
31. 22.1 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, no run, played towards mid off. Nepal 96/3.
32. 22.2 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, 1 run, played towards mid off. Nepal 97/3.
33. 22.3 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Dipendra Singh Airee, 1 run, played towards fine leg. Nepal 98/3.
34. 22.4 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Binod Bhandari, 1 run, played towards mid wicket. Nepal 99/3.
35. 22.5 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Dipendra Singh Airee, no run, played towards covers. Nepal 99/3.
36. 22.6 overs: Muhammad Zuhaib to Dipendra Singh Airee, four, played towards mid wicket. Nepal 103/3.
37. 23.1 overs: Ajay Kumar to Binod Bhandari, no run, played towards covers. Nepal 103/3.
38. 23.2 overs: Ajay Kumar to Binod Bhandari, 1 run, played towards third man. Nepal 104/3.
39. 23.3 overs: Ajay Kumar to Dipendra Singh Airee, 1 run, played towards covers. Nepal 105/3.
40. 23.4 overs: Ajay Kumar to Binod Bhandari, four, played towards mid wicket. Nepal 109/3.

Match officials and venue details

The contest is Match 101 of the ICC CWC League 2 (2023–27), played at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. On-field umpiring duties were assigned to Durga Subedi and Raveendra Wimalasiri, with Wendell Labrooy overseeing the match. The game was streamed live on FanCode.

Extended squads mentioned in the coverage

Nepal’s broader squad list also included: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Basir Ahamad, Karan KC, Anil Sah, Pawan Sarraf, Shahab Alam, Surya Tamang, Kushal Malla, Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, and Rijan Dhakal.

UAE’s extended squad list also included: Nilansh Keswani, Jash Giyanani, Muhammad Jawadullah, and Sohaib Khan.

With Nepal at 109/3 after 23.4 overs in the provided ball-by-ball sequence, the late-innings momentum had swung back in their favour after the dismissal of Rohit Paudel, as Dipendra Singh Airee and Binod Bhandari combined to push the total past the hundred mark.