Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said belief, discipline and team unity were central to his side's 37-run win over the United Arab Emirates in their opening ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 match in Kirtipur.
Speaking after the victory, Rohit admitted Nepal had hoped for a bigger total after recovering from early trouble, but said the team still believed 200 was defendable on a low-bounce surface if the bowlers stuck to their plans.
Nepal were in difficulty early in the innings after slipping to 48 for 3 in the first 10 overs and later 49 for 4. Rohit said that phase made the partnerships that followed especially important, with Dipendra Singh Airee's innings and support from the middle order helping Nepal regain balance.
He described Dipendra's knock as exceptional and said Nepal had been hoping to push closer to 240, but losing wickets at key moments left them around 30 to 40 runs short of where they ideally wanted to be. Even so, Rohit said the mood in the dressing room at the innings break remained positive because the team trusted its bowling attack and overall effort.
Nepal eventually defended 200 by bowling the UAE out for 163, with Rohit saying the group had approached the chase with the mindset that all 300 balls of a 50-over match matter and that effort could not drop at any stage.
The captain also pointed to the changing depth in Nepal cricket, saying strong performances in the PM Cup had increased competition for places and made the current setup healthier. He said that internal competition is helping players improve while also giving the team more options built on domestic form and growing experience.
Rohit reserved praise for Dipendra beyond the innings itself, describing him as a leader within the group and an example in the way he presents himself on the field. He suggested that kind of influence helps raise standards across the side.
Looking ahead, Rohit said Nepal understand the importance of the upcoming run of home matches in League 2. With eight ODIs scheduled in home conditions across two tri-series windows, he said the team sees this phase as a major opportunity and believes experience from previous pressure games can help them handle the challenge better this time.
For Nepal, the win was not only an important start to the CWCL2 window but also a result that reflected the team culture Rohit spoke about: staying in the contest, backing each other, and trusting that collective discipline can turn a modest total into a winning one.
