A pair of preciously talented teenagers combined to take Nepal to a crushing 145-run win over UAE, to level the Anib Challenge Series 1-1. Rohit Paudel became the youngest player in one-day international history to score a half-century, as the away side made 242-9 from their 50 overs. At 16 years and 146 days, Paudel’s effort broke the record previously held by Shahid Afridi, which the Pakistan allrounder set when making a century against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996. He made 55 from 58 balls, and shared in a fine stand worth 82 for the sixth wicket with Aarif Sheikh. It meant UAE faced a far more daunting chase than they otherwise might have been, and they proved worryingly lacking in the task. Having suffered a top-order collapse before eventually chasing the 114 they needed to win in the opening one-day international a day earlier, the batsmen misfired again. First, Sompal Kami made inroads with four wickets with the new-ball, then Sandeep Lamichhane, the 18-year-old leg-spin star, ended any hopes the hosts had of forcing their way back into the game. Lamichhane dismissed debutant CP Rizwan, Fahad Nawaz, and Amir Hayat, all within the space of an over, as UAE crumbled. Kami then completed the win, and his own five-wicket haul, by dismissing Zahoor Khan, as the UAE were all out for 97.
