20/06/2025
Lamichhane bags four wickets as Nepal pip Scotland in low-scoring thriller
After taking four wickets, he scored the winning run in the chase as Nepal won with one ball to spare.
Nepal 98 for 8 (Bhurtel 30, Sharfi 2-13, Leask 2-21) beat Scotland 97 (Leask 46, Lamichhane 4-11, Karan KC 2-20) by two wickets
After an unprecedented three Super Overs were needed to decide the winner between Nepal and Netherlands on Monday, Nepal and Scotland threatened another Super-Over finish in Glasgow on Tuesday. It came down to Nepal needing four off six balls, with three wickets in hand. After picking off singles off the first three balls, Kiran Thagunna fell for 10 off 16 balls, leaving Nepal needing one off the last two balls. Sandeep Lamichhane, who had bagged figures of 4-1-11-4 earlier in the day, found a single to finish it off with one ball to spare.
Having suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Netherlands, Nepal adjusted fairly well to the quick turnaround, skittling Scotland for 97 in 19.4 overs, their second-lowest T20I total at home. In 2018, in Edinburgh, they had been dismissed for 82 against Pakistan.
Nepal suffered a collapse of their own during the small chase of 98, but eventually scraped home. It was legspinner Lamichhane who had set up the win with his four-wicket haul after experienced seamer Karan KC and Dipendra Singh Airee had made early inroads. Lamichhane picked up four of the last five Scotland wickets that fell. Scotland's innings ended when Airee bowled Michael Leask for a run-a-ball 46 in the final over of their innings. Apart from Leask, captain Matthew Cross was the only Scotland batter to pass 10.
In response, Nepal lost both Lokesh Bam and Anil Sah within the first four overs of the chase. What was 24 for 2 soon became 38 for 3 when captain Rohit Paudel was bowled by Safyaan Sharif for 7 off 14 balls. Kushal Bhurtel, though, briefly stabilised the chase, scoring 14 of the 31 runs Nepal made in the powerplay.
Bhurtel moved to 30 off 35 balls before he was trapped lbw by Mark Watt in the 13th over. Airee and Basir Ahamad then departed soon after, causing jitters. When Rupesh Singh was dismissed for 4 off nine balls, Nepal needed another 10 off 12 deliveries. The requirement then came down to four off six balls. Despite Thagunna's dismissal in the final over, Nepal got the job done, handing Scotland their first defeat in the tri-series
