Nepal vs UAE Cricket Rivalry: All You Need to Know

This rivalry between Nepal and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has transcended sport and has become a serious competition in terms of credibility and being on the URTO (United Nations International Regional Treaty Organisation). Both teams have taken their competition to new levels during events such as the ICC CWC League 2 and recently during T20 Asia Cup Qualifiers. Unquestionably, both teams do everything they can to win against one another.

When examining the stats, neither nation has managed to sustain that level of dominance versus the other.

Nepal has been pretty much unbeatable at their Kirtipur base, but the UAE are still a powerful contender on the faster, flatter pitches of the Middle East.

Recently, the all ODI and all T20I win to loss ratio between the two countries has been remarkably even. Most of the matches that were played against one another feature a nail biting finish with both nations having equally good chances to win.

Strengths: The major strength of Nepal is their very talented spin-bowling groups. Their bowlers are able to absolutely suffocate even the highest-quality batting teams on turning pitches. The incredible support they get from their fans can also serve as a "12th man" and give a psychological advantage over other teams.

Weaknesses: The biggest weakness for Nepal is that they have a very inconsistent top-order batting lineup that causes problems when trying to chase large totals against disciplined pace bowling teams.

 The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has an abundance of batting power; this is what gives them the advantage of having many players who are able to hit the ball out of the ground. Additionally, many of these players have gained valuable experience playing under very hot temperatures, which gives them a physical advantage during long tournaments.

The UAE has had difficulty against good quality spin bowlers on slow, turning pitches; Nepal has taken advantage of this flaw many times.

The players that are going to shape this Great Cricket Rivalry will be a significant part of the game's excitement. 

Rohit Paudel - Captain and anchor for the batting line-up for Nepal. As the captain and also as a batting anchor, Rohit is a key piece for getting Nepal in to bat and then holding them together to build an innings. 

Muhammad Waseem - Opening Batsman for the UAE and one of the most destructive opening batsmen in Associates Cricket. Should Waseem get into his innings when batting during the powerplay, it won't take much long until he will be able to impact the match against Nepal in a negative way. 

Asif Khan - Middle order performance for UAE. Asif's role as a middle order bat will be extremely important for the UAE. He is capable hitting for boundaries and building an extremely strong middle order for the UAE. 

Where this Cricket Rivalry is played will be very important in regards to the conditions that would hypothetically exist, thus subsequently, the way that the match is played. If the match is played at the TU Cricket Ground (Kathmandu) there will be very slow conditions due to Spin and the supporting crowd's passion for the home side. These two factors create a significant advantage for Nepal playing against the UAE. If the match is played at either ICC Academy or Sharjah (UAE) then, all things being the same, the way the players play, aggressive oriented batters, will all be able to take full advantage of how the ball reacts to the pitches.

Every time Nepal faces UAE, it proves how much the sport is blooming across Asia. Though UAE has the edge with their professional side and batting line-up depth, Nepal have the upper hand, carrying with them the fan following of the entire world.

The rivalry currently stands in an exciting 50-50 situation. Whoever hold their nerves at the death will surely boast to everyone that they beat who and who.