Nepal defeated UAE by 8 wickets in the second and final Twenty20 International on Tuesday after Kushal Bhurtel and Kushal Malla batted aggressively. They scored 67 runs in the first 8 overs, helping Nepal reach the target of 129 runs in 14 overs.

Nepal, led by Dipendra Singh Airi, leveled the series 1-1 after this victory at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Stadium in Kirtipur. The UAE had defeated Nepal by 6 wickets in a rain-affected match the previous day.

The Kushal duo gave Nepal a great start by adding 51 runs without loss in the first 6 overs of the power play. The partnership was broken when Kushal Malla was dismissed. He scored 19 runs in 17 balls, including 1 four and 2 sixes. Santosh Yadav, who made his Twenty20 International debut, was stumped for 1 run.

Taking advantage of being given a lifeline at 34 runs, Kushal scored 67 runs. This is his 14th half-century in Twenty20 Internationals. He is the highest scorer in Twenty20 Internationals for Nepal. This is his first half-century in this format since scoring 69 runs at home in Oman in October. Kushal Bhurtel remained unbeaten on 84 runs in 57 balls. He hit 12 fours and 2 sixes. Bhurtel and Dipendra had an unbeaten partnership of 58 runs for the third wicket. Dipendra scored an unbeaten 23 runs in 17 balls with 3 fours.

Earlier, UAE, who were invited to bat after losing the toss, could only score 128 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Nepal had a great start. Fast bowler Hemant Dhami gave Nepal a sensational start by dismissing Mohammad Wasim lbw in the first ball of the match. In the second over, Nandan Yadav had Alishan Sarafu caught brilliantly by wicketkeeper Lokesh Bam for 1 run.

Hemant dismissed Harpreet Singh for 1 in his second and third overs of the match. Opener Abid Ismani scored 30 runs. He hit 2 fours and a six in 22 balls before being out LBW by Sandeep Lamichhane. Shahab Alam, who had spent 17 runs in his first over, dismissed Sohaib Khan for a duck in the second over, while Nilans Keshwani was run out for a duck in the same over.

With UAE reaching 48-6 in the eighth over, Akshdeep Nath and Mohammad Arfan shared a 64-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Arfan scored 32 runs in 36 balls with 2 fours and 1 six. Sandeep dismissed Tanvir for a duck in the next ball. Akshdeep remained unbeaten on 53 runs. He hit 3 fours and 4 sixes in 42 balls. Mohammad Zuheb remained unbeaten on 8 runs.

Sandeep took 3 wickets for 6 runs in 4 overs, keeping 1 maiden. Hemant Dhami took 2 wickets for 20 runs in 4 overs. Nandan and Shahab took 1 wicket each. Nandan had scored 44 runs in 4 overs and Shahab had scored 29 runs in 3  overs. Santosh bowled 1 over and conceded 11 runs. Nepal had fielded Lokesh Bam, Arif Sheikh, Santosh and Shahab Alam in place of Arjun Saud, Sandeep Jora, Bashir and Sher Malla from the team that played first.

Santosh's 'debut'

Spin all-rounder Santosh Yadav has made his 'debut' in Twenty20 Internationals from Nepal. He has become Nepal's 55th Twenty20 International player. Santosh, who was included in the Nepali team for the first time, got a chance in the playing 11 in the second Twenty20 International against UAE. However, he could not make much of an impact with both bowling and batting.