Nepal clinched a thrilling victory over hosts Scotland in the ongoing ICC World Cup League-2 match being held in Scotland.
In the first match of the series held on Monday, Nepal defeated Scotland by 1 wicket in a nail-biting finish.
Chasing a target of 297 runs set by Scotland, Nepal completed the chase with just one ball remaining, losing 9 wickets in the process.
Karan KC was the top scorer for Nepal, contributing a vital 65 runs off 41 balls, which included 3 fours and 4 sixes. Rijan Dhakal remained unbeaten on 1 run.
Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh gave Nepal a solid start with a 72-run partnership for the first wicket. Bhurtel scored 53 runs before being bowled by Jack Jarvis, while Aasif made 20 runs before being caught by the wicketkeeper off the bowling of Jasper Davidson.
For the third wicket, Bhim Sharki and captain Rohit Paudel added 54 runs. Bhim scored 40 runs, and Rohit contributed 37 runs, both getting caught off the bowling of McMullen.
Gulshan Jha scored 42 runs, Dipendra Singh Airee made 7, Sandeep Lamichhane 5, and Sompal Kami was dismissed for 1 run.
Earlier, after winning the toss and choosing to bowl first at Forthill in Dundee, Nepal restricted Scotland to 296 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs.
For Scotland, opener Charlie Tear was the highest scorer with 80 runs. Finlay McCreath scored 55, Matthew Cross made 39, captain Richie Berrington contributed 40, and Michael Leask added 18 runs.
For Nepal, Rijhan Dhakal, Karan KC, and Sompal Kami each took two wickets, while Sandeep Lamichhane grabbed one.
Nepal will face the Netherlands in the second match of the series on Wednesday.
This marks Nepal’s third win in the League-2 campaign. With this victory, Nepal has climbed to seventh place on the points table.
In 13 matches, Nepal has won 3, lost 8, and shared points in 2 games, collecting 8 points to sit in seventh position. The UAE, with 6 points, has slipped to eighth place.
Scotland remains in fourth place with 20 points from 17 matches, while the Netherlands is in second place with 26 points from 20 matches.