Vesawkar leads Nepal to third-place finish

Nepal capped a fabulous run at the World Twenty20 Qualifier by securing another last-over win to finish third. As against Hong Kong, when Nepal claimed their place at next year's World Twenty20, and during the group-stage win over Kenya, Sharad Vesawkar proved nerveless at the death, hitting Shadeep Silva - whose initial three overs had cost just 10 runs - for consecutive sixes and sealing a five-wicket victory over UAE with four balls to spare.

Nepal had appeared to be in control of the run chase, with Vesawkar and opener Subash Khakurel settled at the crease and 38 runs required from the final five overs. Khakurel fell shortly after and when Binod Bhandari became the fifth wicket down three balls later, UAE had their window of opportunity. It was quickly slammed shut. Vesawkar had progressed steadily to 23 from 21 deliveries but, with the asking rate up to 11 an over, he struck three sixes and Anil Mandal two fours to seal the result.

UAE had been tied down throughout their innings, unable to build any significant partnerships. At 70 for 4 in the 13th over, they were struggling to remain competitive, before Shaiman Anwar provided some impetus with a quickfire 24 from 16 balls. Anwar became Basant Regmi's fourth wicket with the score on 101 but Swapnil Patel and Mohammad Shafiq added another 30 to give their bowlers something to defend.