Gulshan Jha's brave late assault was not enough as Scotland edged Nepal by two runs in a dramatic ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 match at TU International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
Scotland had elected to bat first and posted 243 for 8 in 50 overs. Rain then delayed the start of Nepal's chase, reducing the target to 221 from 39 overs under the DLS method. Nepal finished on 218 for 7, leaving Scotland with their first win over Nepal in Kirtipur.
The match went down to the final over, with Nepal needing 13 runs to win. Gulshan kept the contest alive and struck a six off the last ball, but Nepal could manage only 10 from the over and fell short by two runs.
Gulshan finished unbeaten on 61 off 35 balls, hitting two fours and five sixes. His counterattack came after Nepal had slipped to 169 for 7 in the 34th over. Nandan Yadav stayed with him till the end, making 8 not out from 10 balls.
Earlier in the chase, Nepal lost Binod Bhandari and Arjun Kumal with the score on 21. Aasif Sheikh made 21 before falling in the 14th over. Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee then revived the innings with a 76-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Rohit made 32 off 46 balls, while Dipendra continued his strong run of form with 55 off 49. He struck five fours and a six and brought up his half-century from 43 balls. But his dismissal in the 27th over shifted the pressure back onto Nepal.
Aarif Sheikh made 3 and Karan KC added 18, but Scotland kept finding wickets at important moments. Brad Currie was named Player of the Match after taking 3 for 43 in 8 overs. Mark Watt took 2 for 37, while Oliver Davidson and Jack Jarvis picked up one wicket each.
Scotland's innings had started strongly through George Munsey and Finlay McCreath. The pair added 100 for the first wicket and took the visitors to 114 before Sandeep Lamichhane pulled Nepal back into the contest.
Munsey top-scored with 75 off 62 balls, hitting 12 fours and two sixes. McCreath made 35 off 62 before both fell in the same Sandeep over. Sandeep then removed Brandon McMullen for 7 and captain Richie Berrington for 5 in his next two overs, leaving Scotland 128 for 4 in the 25th over.
Michael English and Matthew Cross then absorbed pressure through the middle overs. English remained unbeaten on 34 from 72 balls, while Cross made 18. Mark Watt added a useful 24 off 18, and Michael Leask made 29 off 23 to push Scotland to a competitive total.
Sandeep was Nepal's standout bowler with 4 for 41 in 10 overs, including a maiden. Karan KC and Nandan Yadav took two wickets each, with Nandan conceding only one run and taking two wickets in the final over of Scotland's innings.
The win took Scotland level with leaders USA on 36 points, though they remain second on net run rate and have played 29 matches to USA's 24. Nepal stayed seventh with 18 points from 24 matches after a painful home defeat.
