Nepal and UAE have played a draw in the final of the ACC Trophy Elite being played at the Sarjah Cricket Stadium in UAE.

Winning the toss, Nepal invited UAE to bat first. UAE had a sloppy start as they lost opener Arshad Ali in the second over without any run on the board. Abdul Shakoor (20) and Haroon Iftikhar (24) then steadied the innings. They seldom stuck boundaries, but the singles and doubles kept flowing.

But the highlights of the innings started after the 20th over as UAE lost its fourth wicket with 70 runs on board. Khurram Khan and Saqib Ali played a partnership of 87 for the fifth wicket to help post a challenging total of 241. Ali struck eight boundaries and two massive sixes to reach 101 that came off 103 balls while Khan smashed five boundaries for his 61 runs.

Shakti Gauchan took three wickets for 36 runs in his allotted 10 overs while Sanjam Regmi chipped in with a wicket. The other bowlers could not continue their impressive form to pick up any wickets.

In reply Nepal made a steady start. The opening had a 94-run stand as openers Subash Khakurel (55) and Anil Kumar Mandal (44) played a watchful innings. Khakurel smashed two boundaries and as many sixes while Mandal has struck two boundaries and a six. After the fall of the openers the middle order also played a good knock. Gyanendra Malla (32), Paras Khadka (31) and Sharad Vesawkar (38) all contributed to take Nepal to 241.

Arshad Ali and Ahmad Raza grabbed two wickets each while Asanka Gurunge, Shadeep Silva and Shaqib Ali took a wicket apiece.

Nepal needed 12 runs in the last over. Gauchan smashed a six in the fourth ball of the over, but it was not enough to steer the team home. Gauchan lost his wicket in the last over as he was run out while taking the second run.

Nevertheless, according to the rule of the tournament, the trophy will be shared by the teams.

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