Kathmandu, Sept 12: Nepal won the ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2026 defeating the UAE in the final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today. Nepal won the match by 44 runs, securing its place in the Asia Cup for the second time.
The 2027 Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in Bangladesh from June 18 to July 4. Previously, Nepal had secured its place in the Asian Cup after winning ACC Premier Cup in 2023, while the UAE had won the 2024 edition.
In the final today, chasing a target of 314 runs set by Nepal, the UAE were all out for 269 runs in 49.1 overs.
Though Rahul Chopra was not out with 100 runs off 105 balls, including three fours and four sixes, his century was not enough to secure victory for the UAE. Similarly, Sohaib Khan made 52 runs, Tanish Suri 42, Harpreet Singh 33 and Khuzaima Bin Tanveer contributed 15.
For Nepal, Karan KC took three wickets, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi took two wickets, while ( captain) Sandeep Lamichhane, Dipendra Singh Airee, Rohit Kumar Paudel and Gulshan Kumar Jha took one wicket each.
Earlier, Nepal was elected to bat first after winning the toss, and scored 313 runs for nine wickets in 50 overs.
For Nepal, opener and wicket keeper Aasif Sheikh top-scored for Nepal with 102 runs,including eight fours and four sixes. Similarly, Gulshan Kumar Jha made 52 runs off 38 balls, including four sixes and three fours.
Similarly, Arjun Kumal scored 43 runs, while Rohit Kumar Paudel contributed 40. Dipendra Singh Airee 18, Ishan Pandey scored 13, and Basir Ahamad was not out with 15.
For the UAE, Ibrar Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets. Khuzaima Bin Tanveer took two wickets, while Haider Ali and Adeeb Usmani took one wicket each.
