As the national men’s cricket team goes from strength to strength, Friday proved to be another red-letter day in the annals of Nepali cricket.

On the day, Nepal ended their long wait for a return to a Cricket World Cup after they defeated the United Arab Emirates by eight wickets in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier in Kathmandu. Thereby they also booked their ticket to the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

This will be Nepal’s only second appearance at a World Cup after they first qualified in the 2014 tournament in Bangladesh.

Nervousness had surrounded the Mulpani Cricket Stadium as the Rhinos were facing a UAE side that had defeated them in the semi-finals of the Global Qualifier A in February 2022, thus missing out on the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia last year. But captain Rohit Paudel’s side banished the ghosts of that winners-take-all game in Muscat.

“I am feeling very lucky and proud. We all grew up watching the 2014 T20 World Cup and now we are going to the 2024 T20 World Cup. I am really proud of the team…and at the same time the support from the crowd was excellent,” said Nepal captain Rohit Paudel who was at the wicket with Aasif Sheikh when Nepal overcame a tricky chase at the packed stadium to win by eight wickets.

Paudel added he was thrilled to follow the class of 2014 World Cup qualifying team.

“They have always been our role models. They have been here to support us. We feel very lucky.”

Chasing 135 for victory, Nepal lost Kushal Bhurtel for 11 to Nilansh Keshwani in the third over but opener Shiekh coupled with Gulsan Jha to build Nepal’s innings before playing an unbroken 67-run stand with Paudel for the third wicket to guide Nepal to the main event which will be held in the United States and the West Indies next June.

Player of the match Shiekh smashed seven fours and a six in his unbeaten knock of 51-ball 64 for his fourth T20I half-century. Paudel was 34 not out off 20 balls, hitting two fours and as many sixes. Jha made 22 runs facing 24 deliveries.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, Muhammad Waseem gave the UAE a solid start, lashing Karan KC with sixes and fours to take his side to 29 in three overs.

But Sompal Kami struck back, taking the prized wicket of the UAE captain in the fourth ball of the fourth over, three balls after Khalid Shah was run out.

It was Kami’s 50th T20I wicket. Kami is the only remaining member of the Nepal squad that made their World Cup debut in Bangladesh 10 years ago.

Vriitya Aravind scored 64 runs off 51 balls but found little support from other UAE batters, with thrifty spin bowling from allrounder Kushal Malla and Sandeep Lamichhane, limiting them to 134-9 in 20 overs.

Malla took 3-11 and Lamichhane returned the match figures of 2-14. Paudel pocketed one wicket in the only over he bowled.

Following the loss, UAE’s Waseem could not hide his disappointment.

“It is a very disappointing performance from us actually. We lost the crunch game today but it is a part of the game.”

“Nepal played very well today. Congratulations to Nepal.”

Former national team member and captain Gyanendra Malla, who was also part of the 2014 World Cup squad, hopes Nepal will carry the momentum into the World Cup.

“I was part of the national team that qualified for the World Cup for the first time. We had expected to play in the next World Cups but that did not materialise. Now this young side has made it that far. They are young but mature in terms of cricket. I am confident that they will leave a good footprint at the World Cup as well,” Malla told Kantipur television.

During the historic 2014 journey, Nepal defeated Hong Kong and Afghanistan and held firm with the bat in a loss against Bangladesh to tie on points with the hosts, but could not qualify for Super 10, the tournament’s main draw.

But Nepal exited from the group stage of the ICC World T20 Qualifier for the 2016 World T20 to lose their T20I status and did not even make it to the qualifier of the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Friday’s Asia region qualifier success is also a culmination of Nepal national men’s cricket team’s unprecedented revival that began in February last year, thanks to head coach Monty Desai who has found the missing piece of the puzzle, especially when it comes to batting.

Nepal’s decision to buy in Desai in February transformed Nepal into a formidable outfit that won 11 out of their 12 one-day international matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to rise from the second-last spot to an automatic spot in the Zimbabwe ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in March 2023, in a span of just 40 days.

Though Nepal failed to book their ticket to the 2023 ICC ODI Cricket World Cup in India, their momentum continued to 2023 ODI Asia Cup—their first ever—where they displayed a spirited performance against cricket powerhouse India.

Nepal also reached the quarter-finals of the men’s cricket competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games where they rewrote T20I cricket record books shattering multiple records including record highest men’s T20I total (314-3), biggest T20I run-margin victory (273-run win), fastest men’s T20I century (34-ball hundred by Kushal Malla) and fastest T20I half-century (nine-ball 50 by Dipendra Singh Airee) and most T20I sixes by a team in an innings.

“It is the result of years of hard labour of the entire cricket team,” Chatur Bahadur Chand, president of the Cricket Association of Nepal, told the Post. “Their hard work has finally paid off. They have qualified for the T20 World Cup, which is itself a moment of great pride for Nepal,” Chand added.

Oman also joined Nepal at the next year’s global showpiece after routing Bahrain by 10 wickets at TU Cricket Ground.

Aquib Ilyas took 4-10 to restrict Bahrain to 106-9. In reply, openers Kashyap Prajapati and Pratik Athavale scored unbeaten half centuries to complete the chase with six overs to spare.

Oman will be playing their third World Cup.

Nepal will now join the world’s cricket elites in the 2024 global event—the first to be expanded to 20 teams—but they still are a long way from becoming one themselves.

Eighteen teams have now qualified for the 2024 T20 World Cup. The West Indies and the US qualified as hosts. Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka qualified as the top eight teams in the 2022 edition of the competition. Afghanistan and Bangladesh sealed their spots as the two next-highest-ranked teams in the format. Ireland and Scotland qualified from the Europe region qualifier, while Papua New G uinea made it from the East Asia-Pacific region and Canada from the Americas region. The final two spots at the World Cup will be decided through the Africa qualifier, which will conclude at the end of the month.

Nepal play Oman in the title match at Kirtipur on Sunday.