Nepal Vs UAE Highlights, 1st T20I: Emirates Beat Rhinos By Six Wickets In Rain-Hit Contest

Good afternoon and welcome, folks! We are building up to the start of the first-ever floodlit match in Nepal. Stick around for match facts, toss, playing XIs and live updates.

The first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 4:45pm IST, with the toss at 4:15pm. The Nepal vs UAE, 1st T20I will be broadcast live on Kantipur TV Max in Nepal, while fans in India and the rest of the world can stream the match on the MSM Video app.

The app requires subscription, however, and a pretty expensive one at that. A monthly purchase is pegged at 9.99 US dollars, or roughly INR 929. That's more than what a full family's one-month Netflix subscription costs. It's hard to imagine anyone shelling out that kind of money to watch a couple of games.

Nepal have a big following outside the country as well, and even more so after a spirited T20 World Cup campaign. Paywalling games of emerging teams could hinder the sport's growth across geographies as well as the outfits' rise.

Here is Nepal's full squad for the two-match series as well as the CWC League 2 games against UAE and Oman:

Nepal have won the toss and elected to bat first against UAE. Team news coming your way shortly.

United Arab Emirates: Adeeb Usmani (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sohaib Khan, Haider Ali, Khuzaima Tanveer, Muhammad Arfan, Junaid Siddique, Akshdeep Nath, Muhammad Zuhaib

Nepal: Arjun Saud (wk), Basir Ahamad, Dipendra Singh Airee (c), Gulsan Jha, Hemant Dhami, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sher Malla, Sundeep Jora

Arjun Saud and Kushal Bhurtel stride out to open the batting for Nepal and Junaid Siddique has the ball in hand for UAE. Bhurtel and Saud crack a boundary apiece to take 10 runs off the first over. But the right-arm seamer responds in his next over, castling Saud for an 11-ball 13.

Nepal lose their way a bit in the powerplay, with Sundeep Jora falling for a 6-ball 6 to Haider Ali and Kushal Bhurtel (16 off 9) run out by Harpreet Singh. Captain Dipendra Singh Airee is now at the crease alongside a circumspect Kushal Malla for the Rhinos.

NEP: 40/3 (6)

Kushal Malla is slowly growing in confidence, getting busier with his strokeplay to inch up to an unbeaten 17 off 20. Skipper Dipendra Airee is still sluggish off the blocks with 8 off 14. Ten overs remain, and the Rhinos would no doubt eye a late flourish.

NEP: 62/3 (10)

In other cricketing action, the Indian Premier League's 2026 season pits Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans against Hardik Pandya's Mumbai Indians tonight. A win can take GT into the top two. MI, on the other hand, remain rooted at the bottom of the table with just two points. Follow the match closely with our live blog.

Dipendra Singh Airee (25 not out off 30) is running out of partners as Nepal suffer a middle-order collapse. Muhammad Zuhaib has claimed three wickets to leave the hosts seven down and with 110-odd on the board. With just three overs to go, getting to any total over 135 seems improbable now for the Rhinos.

NEP: 111/7 (17)

With seven balls remaining in the Nepal innings, a steady downpour has caused the umpires to pause the game and take the players off the ground. Dipendra Singh Airee is unbeaten at 32, and alongside him is Sandeep Lamichhane (2 not out off 4).

NEP: 122/8 (18.5)

With play yet to resume, it is unlikely that Nepal will walk out to bat again, given just seven balls were left in their innings. UAE are likely to get a DLS-adjusted target, which they would chase under the floodlights, if the rain relents of course.

Earlier today, UAE's national anthem was reportedly not played in the opening ceremony. Nepal-based sports journalist Subas Humagain wrote on X that the public address system played the wrong anthem for UAE twice. Humagain stated, "After Nepal sang their anthem in the official opening ceremony it was UAE's turn. After some delay, one anthme (sic) was played, which went for over 30 seconds and players informed it was wrong.

"After a minute delay, another one was played, and wrong again. Then the players left the ceremony. Captain Mohammad Waseem was visibly upset while walking towards his dugout."

The rain relents, and the ground staff are able to mop up the water from the field in time for a 10-over contest. Nepal's innings, as expected is deemed over and UAE are handed a 78-run target. The visitors are off to a rollicking start, clattering 20 runs off the first over!

UAE: 26/0 (2)

After a blazing start courtesy captain Muhammad Waseem (33 off 15), UAE lose three wickets in quick succession to the guile of Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane. Waseem himself is the first to be dismissed, followed by Adeeb Usmani (2 off 7) and Harpreet Singh (2 off 7). Still only 23 more runs to get off 24 balls, so the equation is very much tilted in the visitors' favour.

UAE: 45/3 (6)

There it is. UAE lose Alishan Sharafu's wicket too, but cruise to the 78-run target in 8.5 overs. They thus notch up a six-wicket victory (DLS method) with seven balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The next game is on Tuesday (April 21), remember.