Nepal beat Scotland by six wickets in Kirtipur on Tuesday in the teams’ second Cricket World Cup League 2 meeting of the ongoing tri-series, chasing down 195 with more than two overs to spare.
Scotland were all out for 194 in 39.1 overs after choosing to bat first, and Brandon McMullen’s 73 off 44 balls gave them early pace before Lalit Rajbanshi turned the innings Nepal’s way. Rajbanshi finished with 4-32, removing Scotland captain Richie Berrington for 12 and Michael Leask for one as the visitors lost their last wickets without building a recovery. Michael English added 51, but Scotland could not push past a total that looked below par once the middle overs tightened.
Nepal’s reply was built on control rather than acceleration. Khushal Bhurtel was lbw to McMullen for 28 and Aasif Sheikh was run out for 29, yet Ishan Pandey made 55 and Rohit Paudel carried the chase with an unbeaten 74. Paudel ended the contest with a six as Nepal finished on 199-4 in 38.1 overs, a result that gave them their second win in the tri-series before their final match against the United States on Friday.
The defeat came after Scotland had beaten Nepal and the United States earlier in the series, a reminder that the standings in Cricket World Cup League 2 remained tight even as momentum shifted from one match to the next. Scotland were set to face the United States again on Wednesday, while Nepal had already kept themselves in range with back-to-back wins heading into Friday.
Rajbanshi’s spell was the difference between a competitive total and one Nepal could absorb without panic. Scotland had enough starts to threaten a larger score, but once Berrington and Leask fell to the left-arm spinner, the innings stalled and the lower order could not repair it. Nepal, by contrast, did not need a chase of this size to become frantic; they only needed one partnership to stay in front, and Paudel made sure the finish never came close.
That is why the result matters in the middle of an ongoing tri-series: it did more than settle one afternoon in Kirtipur. It kept Nepal’s campaign alive with two wins in hand and checked Scotland’s early edge in the event, where every point continues to shape the race in ICC CWC League 2.
