Mumbai: Nepal signed off from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a seven-wicket victory over Scotland in their final Group ‘C’ match at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, ending a 12-year wait for a win in the global showpiece.

Invited to bat first, Scotland posted 170-7, riding on a fluent half-century by opener Michael Jones. In reply, Nepal reached the target with four balls to spare, scoring 171-3, thanks to an unbeaten half-century from Dipendra Singh Airee.

The victory after 12 years gave Nepal a sight of relief as Nepal’s last victory in a T20 World Cup came during their debut appearance in 2014 in Bangladesh, when they defeated Afghanistan by nine runs. After that tournament, Nepal had to wait a decade to return to the global stage, making their comeback in the 2024 edition in the United States and the West Indies.

In that campaign, Nepal lost three group-stage matches against South Africa, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, while their fixture against Sri Lanka in Florida was washed out. They had also lost all three previous matches in the ongoing tournament before Tuesday’s win.

Nepal’s successful run chase

Nepal’s chase was built on a solid 71-run opening partnership between Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh, followed by Dipendra Singh Airee’s unbeaten knock.

Bhurtel and Aasif provided a strong start, registering Nepal’s highest-ever opening stand in the T20 World Cup. The duo surpassed their previous record of 37 runs set against England earlier in the tournament.

Bhurtel was the first to depart, scoring 43 off 35 balls, including a four and five sixes. He was caught by Tom Bruce off Michael Leask in the 9.1 overs. Nepal then lost two wickets in quick succession. Aasif was dismissed for 33 off 27 balls, hitting two boundaries, again caught off Leask — this time by Brad Wheal.

Captain Rohit Paudel became the third wicket to fall at 98-3, contributing 16 off 14 balls. Leask claimed his third wicket when Rohit was caught by Jones.

Dipendra and Gulshan Jha then stitched together an unbeaten 71-run partnership for the fourth wicket to guide Nepal home. Gulshan scored 24 off 17 balls, including a boundary and two sixes.

Leask was Scotland’s standout bowler, finishing with 3-30 from his four overs.

Dipendra’s milestone

Dipendra Singh Airee scored an unbeaten 50 off just 23 balls, striking four fours and three sixes. It was his second half-century in T20 World Cup history, making him the first Nepali player to register two fifties in the World T20.

Earlier in the competition, he had scored 58 against West Indies in a nine-wicket defeat.

Apart from player-of-the-match Airee, Subash Khakurel remains the only other Nepali batter to score a T20 World Cup half-century, having made 58 against Afghanistan during Nepal’s debut campaign in 2014.

Prestige at stake

Both sides entered the match after being eliminated from Super Eight contention. West Indies and England advanced from the five-team group, while Scotland, Italy and Nepal exited at the group stage.

Nepal had lost their previous three matches — to England by four runs, Italy by 10 wickets and Zimbabwe by nine wickets. Scotland defeated Italy by 73 runs but lost to West Indies by 35 runs and to England by five wickets.

With qualification no longer possible, pride was the only incentive. Nepal, under pressure after successive defeats, were determined to finish on a positive note — and they did.

Despite the victory, Nepal finished at the bottom of the table with two points from four matches. Scotland, also on two points, secured third place on net run rate.

Scotland innings

Scottish openers Michael Jones and George Munsey shared an 80-run stand for the first wicket, collecting 52 runs in the powerplay to lay a solid foundation.

Jones top-scored with 71 off 45 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes, before being bowled by Sompal Kami with Scotland at 132-2 in 15.2 overs.

Nepal’s first breakthrough came on the final ball of the 10th over when Munsey was dismissed for 27 off 29 balls, including four boundaries. Captain Rohit Paudel had him caught by Sundeep Jora, who made his T20 World Cup debut in place of Karan KC.

After removing Jones, Sompal struck again two balls later to dismiss Brandon McMullen, who had earlier been dropped by Jora on 15. McMullen scored 25 off 15 balls, hitting a four and a six.

Captain Richie Berrington (10) and Mark Watt (not out 10) were the other Scottish batters to reach double figures.

Sompal was the pick of Nepal’s bowlers with figures of 3-25 from four overs. Nandan Yadav claimed 2-34, while Rohit Paudel and Kushal Bhurtel took one wicket each.