Kathmandu, June 18
In their second match of the ongoing Tri-Nation T20I series in Scotland, Nepal secured a hard-fought 2-wicket victory over Scotland.
Chasing a target of 98 runs, Nepal reached the total in 19.5 overs, losing 8 wickets in the process. Kushal Bhurtel was the top scorer for Nepal with 30 runs.
Dipendra Singh Airee contributed 14 runs, Basir Ahmad made 13, and Kiran Thagunna added 10. No other batter reached double digits. Lokesh Bam scored 9, Rohit Paudel 7, while Anil Sah, Rupesh Singh, and Karan KC all made 3 runs each.
When Nepal was struggling at 38/3, Kushal and Dipendra built a 22-run partnership. Following that, Nepal lost its fourth wicket at 60, fifth at 75, sixth at 77, seventh at 87, and eighth at 97 runs.
With 1 run needed from 2 balls, Sandeep Lamichhane joined Karan KC at the crease. A soft push from Sandeep secured the winning run. Although Scotland attempted a run-out at the striker’s end, Karan had already completed the run.
Losing the toss and batting first, Scotland were bowled out for just 97 runs in 19.4 overs. Michael Leask top-scored with 44 runs. Matthew Cross made 15 and Brandon McMullen added 10.
For Nepal, Sandeep Lamichhane bowled brilliantly, taking 4 wickets for just 11 runs in his 4 overs. Karan KC and Dipendra Singh Airee took 2 wickets each, while Lalit Rajbanshi claimed 1.
Scotland had lost 5 wickets within the first 5 overs. Although Cross and Leask built a 39-run partnership, after Cross got out, Leask received little support from the other end, and Scotland couldn’t make a big score.
Previously, Nepal had lost their opening match to the Netherlands in the third super over. Nepal will now play the Netherlands again on Thursday.
