Nepal defeated Scotland by two wickets in a close thriller in match 3 of the Scotland T20I Tri-Series 2025 at the Titwood in Glasgow on Tuesday, 17 June 2025.
Asked to bat first, Scotland were restricted to 97 runs after a brilliant spell by leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who took four wickets with conceding just 11 runs and one maiden as well.
Nepal Playing XI: Kushal Bhurtel, Lokesh Bam, Anil Sah(w), Rohit Paudel(c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Basir Ahamad, Kiran Thagunna, Rupesh Singh, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi
Scotland Playing XI: George Munsey, Matthew Cross(w/c), Christopher McBride, Michael Leask, Liam Naylor, Finlay McCreath, Brandon McMullen, Mark Watt, Jasper Davidson, Safyaan Sharif, Jack Jarvis
Michael Leask was the highest run-scorer for Scotland with 46 runs, including five boundaries in his innings. Brandon McMullen (10) and Matthew Cross (15) were the other two batters who crossed the two-digit mark for Scotland.
Dipendra Singh Airee and Karan KC took a couple of wickets each, whereas Lalit Rajbanshi took one wicket. The 98-run target was a tricky one on a spin-friendly pitch of Titwood.
Chasing the target, Nepal lost Lokesh Bam and Anil Sah early inside the powerplay. Opener batter Kushal Bhurtel made a fighting 30 off 35 balls to keep Nepal in the game. Rohit Paudel also departed after just seven runs.
Nepal's middle-order failed to deliver, but Airee, Bashir Ahamad and Kiran Thagunna played crucial cameos to take the visitors past the line. Four runs were needed in the final over with Thagunna and Karan KC at the crease.
Safyaan Sharif came to bowl the final over for Scotland and conceded three singles on the first three deliveries. Then he dismissed Thagunna on the next delivery, which brought Lamichhane to the crease. He hit the winning runs and was awarded the Player of the Match for his performance.
Scotland will clash with the Netherlands on Wednesday, whereas Nepal will take on the Dutch side on Thursday at the same venue.
