Following their semi-final victories against the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the ICC Men's T20I World Cup Asia Qualifiers 2023, Nepal and Oman qualify semi-final victories against the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the ICC Men's T20I World Cup Asia Qualifiers 2023 have earned tickets to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. at the first semi-final, Bahrain faced Oman, who crushed the former by 10 wickets and earned a clinical triumph at Kirtipur.
The UAE faced Nepal in the following semi-final, which was played in the latter's capital Kathmandu, and the hosts won by eight wickets. Both victors will now meet one other on November 5th in Kirtipur, but regardless of the outcome, both have secured a place in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Oman defeats Bahrain by 10 wickets
Oman qualified for their third T20 World Cup when Bahrain won the toss at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur and chose to bat first, but the Omani bowling attack thwarted their efforts. Bahrain was in grave difficulty shortly after the powerplay ended, as they lost wickets in quick succession, and the scoreboard read 77-8 after 15.2 overs.
Ahmer Bin Nisar gave Bahrain's batting a boost, scoring 26 off 25 balls and pushing the total above 100, while Sarfarza Ali (23) and Imran Ali (30) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures. Oman's Aqib Ilyas finished his career-best stint with 4-10 in four overs, closing the opponent's innings at 106-9.
Coming out for the chase, Omani openers Kashyap Prajapati (57 off 44) and Pratik Athavale (50 off 42) were enough for the Bahraini bowlers to close the deal, as they didn't lose a wicket and completed the chase in 14.2 overs. Ilyas was named Player of the Match.
Nepal defeats UAE by eight wickets
The match was played in front of a crowded Mulpani Cricket Ground, where Nepal defeated UAE by eight wickets to qualify for their second T20 World Cup. The visitors, UAE, won the toss and opted to bat first, but were dismissed for 134-9 in 20 overs despite Vriitya Aravind's 64-run effort. Skipper Mohammed Waseem (26 off 16) made a good contribution but was removed early.
Kushal Malla took the most wickets with three, followed by Sandeep Lamichhane with two and Sompal Kami and Rohit Paudel with one each. While chasing, Aasif Sheikh (64 off 51) and Rohit Paudel (34 off 20) completed an undefeated 68-run partnership for the side. Kushal Bhurtel (11 off 8) and Gulshan Jha (22 off 24) took the team's only two wickets.
These two scalps were obtained by the UAE's Basil Hameed and Nilansh Keswani. Aasif Sheikh of Nepal was subsequently awarded the Match's Player.
Nepal and Oman qualify scenario for the 2024 T20 World Cup
In terms of the T20 World Cup 2024 qualifying scenario, the tournament will include 20 teams separated into four groups of five teams each. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Eight round, where they will be divided into two groups of four. The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals. In 2024, the ICC tournament will be held in the Caribbean and the United States.