Nepal Lose Final T20I Match Against Scotland by 34 Runs

Nepal lost to Scotland by 34 runs in the final match of the T20I Tri-Series after the top-order batters failed to perform.

In the match played on Friday, Nepal were chasing a target of 194 runs set by Scotland. But Nepal could only score 159 runs in 18.5 overs before being all out.

Rupesh Singh was the top scorer for Nepal with an unbeaten 43 runs off 22 balls. Dipendra Singh Airee added 34 runs, and captain Rohit Paudel scored 27.

Scotland’s Chris Greaves took 3 wickets in 3 overs, giving away 27 runs. Safyaan Sharif took 2 wickets, while Mark Watt, Michael Leask, and Brandon McMullen each got 1 wicket.

Nepal lost early wickets with Kushal Bhurtel out for 4 runs in the very first over. Bhim Sharki (12), Aasif Sheikh (14), and Aarif Sheikh (5) were also dismissed quickly. Nepal were 43 for 4 by the end of the powerplay.

Despite a short partnership between Dipendra and Rohit, Nepal couldn’t recover from the early setbacks.

Earlier, Scotland scored 193 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs, thanks to a fast half-century from opener George Munsey.

Munsey made 78 runs off 39 balls with 5 fours and 6 sixes. Brandon McMullen added 42 runs, while Michael Leask (26*) and Matthew Cross (17*) stayed not out at the end.

Munsey and McMullen had a 100-run partnership for the second wicket. Scotland were at 134 for 2 before Nepal took 3 quick wickets to reduce them to 145 for 5. Then Leask and Cross added an unbeaten 48-run stand.

For Nepal, Kushal Bhurtel took 2 wickets in 2 overs, giving away 20 runs. Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, and Rupesh Singh took 1 wicket each.

In the tri-series, Nepal played 4 matches—winning 2 and losing 2. They lost to the Netherlands in a Super Over, defeated Scotland once, and beat the Netherlands on Thursday.

Scotland beat the Netherlands in their first match but later lost to both Nepal and the Netherlands. All three teams won 2 matches each in the series.