'That sounds good!' - Nepal Captain Rohit Paudel expresses delight over featuring alongside India and Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023

Nepal cricket team scripted history as they qualified for the Asia Cup 2023 after beating United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) by seven wickets in the final of ACC Men’s Premier Cup on Tuesday, May 2. Following their win, Nepal became the sixth team to qualify for the continental tournament and are placed in Group A alongside Asian giants India and Pakistan.

Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel is excited to play alongside two of the biggest names of international cricket, namely Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. "That sounds good!" Paudel was quoted as saying after the match after getting to know that they share the group with India and Pakistan.

Earlier this year, Nepal qualified to play the qualifiers of the 50-over World Cup which will be played in Zimbabwe.

“As a team, this is the beginning for us. We have just started, so there are many more (successes) to come, I think. I feel very lucky that I've got an amazing team. They (fans) have been here for so long, and they're still here. Yesterday, also in the rain, they were standing for us. So the biggest thanks go to them," Paudel was quoted as saying by India Today Sports.

Talking about Nepal vs UAE final held at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Nepal skipper Paudel won the toss and invited UAE to bat first. The decision was vindicated by his bowlers as they had UAE reeling at 51/5 after 13.1 overs. Asif Khan failed a valiant knock of 46 off 54 balls as UAE were bundled out for 117 in 33.1 overs.

Gulsan Jha guided Nepal to victory in the final with his fifty

Lalit Rajbanshi (4/14, in 7.1 overs) was the pick of the bowlers for Nepal while Karan KC (2/26 in 7 overs) and Sandeep Lamichhane (2/34 in 10 overs) also picked up two wickets each. 

In the second innings, Nepal were in a spot of bother as they were struggling at 22/3 after eight overs. Seeing their team in trouble, Gulsan Jha (67 off 84) and Bhim Sharki (36 off 72) put on a match-winning stand of 96 runs off 135 balls for the fourth wicket and helped their team chase down the target in 30.3 overs.

As a result, Nepal won the match by seven wickets and Gulsan Jha was awarded Player of the Match for his splendid fifty and picking one wicket during the game. Sandeep Lamichhane was awarded Player of the Tournament for scoring 55 runs and 13 wickets in the tournament.