Sandeep Lamichhane pleaded for help for Nepal’s flood victims and said he hoped the cricket team had brought some joy to the nation after qualifying for the Asia Cup.
Nepal will play against the stars of India and Pakistan in Bangladesh next year after winning the ACC Premier Cup in Malaysia.
They beat the UAE by 44 runs in Saturday’s final in Kuala Lumpur, thus depriving the national team a return trip to the continent’s top competition.
The two sides have been familiar rivals in recent times. Nepal qualified for the Asia Cup at UAE’s expense when it was last played in the ODI format, before the national team won out against them last time around, when it was played as a T20 competition.
Lamichhane, Nepal’s captain, was named player of the tournament for his haul of wickets, while Aasif Sheikh was player of the match in the final for the 102 that underpinned Nepal’s total of 313-9.
Rahul Chopra scored a century of his own in reply – his second ton in his past three ODI innings – but the target was too sizeable for the UAE.
Victory was celebrated in typically frenzied fashion by an impressive contingent of Nepal supporters at the ground. And Lamichhane said the supporters back at home were in his side’s thoughts, too.
“I guess a party must be happening in Nepal as well,” he said. “At the same time, on behalf of this team, I also want to remember all those who lost their lives in the recent flood in Nepal.
“I still want to appeal to everybody, please do help Nepal at this point of time. God will be really kind to all of us if we help each other out right now.
“Nepal needs your support, and this victory, this trophy, everything is dedicated to all those flood victims, those who lost their lives and who are still in trouble.
“I’m really, really grateful to everybody – all the friends, family, players, and their families – who must be happy. I'm really, really proud of the way we played throughout the tournament.”
Defeat was tough to take for a UAE side who have shown a vast improvement in 50-over cricket over the past two months.
They were on a run of six wins in a row heading into the final, but they were met by a blitz by Nepal’s batters.
Sheikh’s century was supported by fine efforts from Arjun Kamal (43), Rohit Paudel (40) and Gulshan Jha (52).
“From the very first day of the tournament, we saw a new player of the game each time we played,” Lamichhane said. “It’s not about one particular player giving his effort; everyone who has been there has been able to make the things happen on the field for the team.
“I guess that's a perfect example of how the team went throughout the tournament.”
The UAE made a quick start to their reply, with Tanish Suri firing 42 in 28 balls. They had to rectify a collapse, with Chopra and Sohaib Khan sharing 87 for the sixth wicket.
Once Sohaib departed, and with Chopra struggling with a leg injury, the chase was beyond the national team.
“I’m very proud of my team, the way we have been approaching things from all the recent series, and I hope we are going to be a better team from here,” Harpreet Bhatia, the UAE captain, said.
“The wicket was good, the only thing was we lost early wickets [the UAE fell from 45 for no loss to 56-3]. We had started well, but I felt after losing me, I could have done a little better [Bhatia made 33].
“It cost us, and created pressure on Rahul and Sohaib. Still, they took the game deep, and Rahul has been playing very well for some time now.”
