KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a heartbreaking two-run defeat against Scotland under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 match held at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday.
Scotland set a target of 244 runs for the home side after batting first. However, rain interrupted Nepal’s chase in the second innings, forcing officials to revise the target to 221 runs in 39 overs under the DLS system.
Chasing the revised target, Nepal were bowled out for 218 runs, falling just two runs short of victory.
For Scotland, Brad Currie took three wickets, while Mark Watt claimed two. Oliver Davidson and Jack Grieves picked up one wicket each.
For Nepal, Gulsan Jha top-scored with an unbeaten 61 off 35 balls, hitting two fours and five sixes. Vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee added 55 runs from 49 balls, including five fours and one six, and shared a 76-run partnership with captain Rohit Paudel, who scored 32 runs.
Aasif Sheikh made 21 runs, while Karan KC contributed 18 and Binod Bhandari scored 10 runs.
Earlier, Scotland posted 243 for 8 in 50 overs, led by George Munsey, who struck a brilliant 75 off 62 balls with 12 fours and two sixes. Finlay McCreath added 35, while Michael English remained unbeaten on 34. Michael Leask and Matthew Cross chipped in with 29 and 18 runs respectively.
Nepal’s bowling attack was led by Sandeep Lamichhane, who took four wickets, while Karan KC and Nandan Yadav claimed two wickets each.
With this win, Scotland moved to 36 points in the league standings, while Nepal remains seventh with 18 points from 25 matches, making their chances of finishing in the top four increasingly difficult.
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