ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022: UAE seals the qualifying spot

Both UAE and Ireland have qualified for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 by winning their respective semi-finals in Oman on Tuesday.

After opting to bat first, UAE suffered an early blow. Their opener Chirag Suri(4) was bowled by Jitendra Mukhiya in the second over. However, the wicket did little to deter UAE as Vriitya Aravind(46) continued his superb form.

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Aravind picked up 18 runs from Mukhiya's subsequent over. He was also continued to plunder runs off the other bowlers as Muhammad Waseem(70) expertly negotiated the strike. The half-century stand was finally broken in the eighth over when Sandeep Lamichhane cleaned up Aravind for 46. However, Waseem was then joined by Muhammad Usman. Meanwhile, the pair added another half-century partnership.

UAE finished up on a good score of 175/7 in 20 overs. For Nepal, both Mukhiya and Bohara picked up 3 wickets each while skipper Lamichane got only 1.

The poor run chase from Nepal:

In the run chase, Nepal struggled from the beginning. Aasif Sheikh and Lokesh Bam went for ducks, losing their wickets in the first over. Kushal Bhurtel could not hold on for long either and fell in the third over.

At 18/3 with Junaid Siddique accounting for all three wickets, Nepal looked in all sorts of trouble. Dipendra Singh Airee then helped them regroup, partnering with Aarif Sheikh to push them past 50. The rebuilding didn't last for long as Aarif was seen off by Rohan Mustafa in the eighth over.

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Nepal limped to 76/4 but capitulated soon after. UAE skipper Ahmed Raza removed both Airee and Gyanendra Malla(20) in the 13th over and picked up two more wickets in his next. With wickets falling regularly and the asking rate climbing, Nepal finally folded for 107. Zahoor Khan picked up the last wicket in the 19th over. Raza finished with an impressive 5/19.

However, with this UAE booked one of the four remaining spots up for grabs in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.