KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 17
Nepal defeated Scotland by three wickets in the One Day International tri-series match under the ICC Cricket World Cup League-II here at the TU Stadium today.
Invited to bat first, the visitors recovered from 111-6 to post 274-9 in their allotted 50 overs before the home side rode on scintillating innings from Kushal Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee to reach 275-7 with 18 balls to spare.
Chasing a modest target, Nepal were reduced to 77-5 after top order faltered. But Malla and Airee shared a 100-run partnership for the sixth wicket to bring the home team back into the match. After the fall of Malla in the 28th over, Airee and Gulsan Jha added 43 runs for the seventh wicket, before Airee and Sompal Kami took the team home with a 55- run partnership for the unbroken eighth wicket.
Player-of-the-match Airee remained unbeaten on 85 off 116 balls that included eight boundaries and a six, while Malla hit nine fours and four sixes in his 67-ball 81. Sompal Kami, who hit the winning runs, scored 32- ball 24 not out with the help of three boundaries. Jha (17) and opener Kushal Bhurtel (16) contributed in double figures.
Chris Sole (3-72) and Mark Watt (3-43) shared six wickets between them for Scotland, while Michael Leask grabbed a wicket.
Earlier, Leask top scored for the tourists with an unbeaten 107 off 85 balls that included three fours and nine sixes. Scotland were reduced to 111-6 in 24.2 oversbefore Leask and Jack Jarvis added 82 runs for the seventh wicket to help the team post challenging score. Jarvis was the second best scorer for Scotland with 38-ball 26, while Mark Watt contributed 20.
Opener Christopher McBride and Brandon McMullen scored 22 each, while skipper Richie Berrington and Tomas Mackintosh contributed 19 apiece.
Chris Greaves (16) also scored in double figures for Scotland.
Sandeep Lamichhane was the pick of the Nepali bowlers taking 3-27 from 10 overs, while Kushal Malla grabbed 2-49. Sompal Kami, Kushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh Airee claimed one each for the home team. The victory turned out to be a bitter one for Lamichhane and Nepali team after Scotland players refused to shake hands with the rape-accused legspinner, who is currently out on bail.
Scotland, who confirmed the championship with a 10-wicket victory over Namibia on Wednesday, are at the top of the seven-team table with 48 points, while Nepal remained unchanged at sixth on 22 despite their second straight victory. Oman are second on 44 points, while Namibia are third on 37, two more than United States.
The United Arab Emirates, who also have 10 matches remaining like Nepal, are at the fifth position with 27 points. Papua New Guinea are at the bottom of the table with five points Nepali players greet the crowd as they celebrate after beating Scotland in the ODI tri-series match under the ICC Cricket World Cup League-II at the TU Stadium in Kathmandu on Friday. from 28 teams. After the completion of the four-year cycle, top three teams will advance to the 2023 Cricket World Cup Global Qualifier, while the bottom four will play in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off along with top two teams from the Challenge League.
Top two teams from the Play-off tournament will advance to the Global Qualifier.Also, the top five teams in the League-II will keep their ODI status.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 18, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
