KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 4

Nepal faced a three-wicket defeat at the hands of Scotland in the One Day International match of tri-series under the ICC Cricket World Cup League-II at the United Cricket Club grounds in Windhoek today.

Batting first, Nepal were bowled out for a paltry 137 runs in 40.1 overs before Scotland reached 143-7 with 107 balls to spare. With the win, Scotland moved to the top of the seven-team table, while Nepal remained at the sixth place.

Nepal lost opener Aasif Sheikh (seven) with just seven runs on the board before Arjun Saud and Gyanendra Malla added 37 runs for the second wicket in a highest partnership of the innings. Nepali batsmen could not build on that stand and lost wicket at regular interval.

Gulsan Jha was the unlikely top scorer for Nepal with run-a-ball 29 that included three fours and a six, while Malla hit three boundaries in his 25 off 39 balls. Opener Saud (18), skipper Rohit Poudel (17) and Aarif Sheikh (10) were the other batsmen who scored in double figures.

Player-of-the-match Chris Sole was the pick of the Scotland bowlers taking 3-12 from seven overs, while Mark Watt grabbed 2-19.

Brandon McMullen, Safyaan Sharif and Michael Leask bagged one wicket each.

In reply, Christopher McBride top scored for Scotland with 43 off 47 balls with the help of seven boundaries, while Brandon Mc- Mullen scored an unbeaten 32 off 34 balls hitting two fours and a six. Michael Leask struck three boundaries in his 20-ball 22.

Opener George Munsey (17) and Matthew Cross (13) also chipped in valuable runs. Nepali bowlers put pressure on Scotland towards end but it was too late for them to defend the below-par total.

Gulsan Jha (2-19), Lalit Rajbanshi (2-20) and Sagar Dhakal (2-31) grabbed two wickets each for Nepal, while Dipendra Singh Airee bagged one wicket.

Scotland surged to the top of the table on superior net run rate after they were tied on 44 points with Oman. United States of America are third on 35, two more than Namibia.

United Arab Emirates are at the fifth position with 27 points, while Nepal - whose match against Namiba ended in a no result due to rain in the second innings - are sixth on 18 points. Bottom-placed Papua New Guinea have five points.

Nepal will now play against Namibia on Wednesday and end the campaign with a match against Scotland on Thursday.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 5, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.