Nepal climbed to fifth place in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 table after beating the table leader - Scotland by six wickets at TU International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur, on Monday.
Chasing 195, Nepal reached 199/4 in 38.1 overs with 71 balls remaining. Captain Rohit Paudel stayed unbeaten on 74 off 98 balls, while Ishan Pandey made his maiden fifty (55) in only his second ODIs.
Nepal had lost both openers inside eight overs. Aasif Sheikh made 29 off 17 balls and Kushal Bhurtel scored 28 off 27 balls before Scotland reduced Nepal to 59/2.
Ishan and Rohit then rebuilt the innings with a crucial 104-run stand for the third wicket. Ishan hit five fours and two sixes in his 61-ball knock before falling to Mark Watt.
Rohit carried the chase deep and completed his half-century off 76 balls. Aarif Sheikh remained unbeaten on 8 as Nepal sealed the chase in the 39th over.
Earlier, Scotland were bowled out for 194 in 39.1 overs after choosing to bat first. Lalit Rajbanshi was named player of the match after taking 4/32 in eight overs. He also reached a milestone in ODIs, becoming fifth Nepali player to reach 50 wickets.
Sandeep Lamichhane also played a key role with 3/47 from 10 overs. During the match, he became the fastest bowler in ODI history to reach 150 wickets, completing the milestone in 73 matches.
Brandon McMullen top-scored for Scotland with 73 off 44 balls, hitting six fours and six sixes. Michael English added 51, but Scotland lost wickets regularly after a fast start.
Sompal Kami, Dipendra Singh Airee and Nandan Yadav took one wicket each for Nepal.
After the match, Sandeep said Nepal’s victory was possible because of the team's hard work and collective effort. He said the players had kept working to correct previous mistakes and make the most of home conditions.
The win lifted Nepal to 22 points from 27 matches.
In the ongoing series, Nepal began with a loss against Scotland with a narrow two-run (DLS) loss but bounced back strongly with a dominant win over the USA. Their latest victory against Scotland made it two wins from three matches, with Nepal now set to face the USA once again in their final match of the home tri-series on May 22.
