Nepal and Scotland will both be hoping to end the ICC Twenty20 World Cup on a high note as the two teams compete in their final group match at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

Nepal has not been able to win a single match. It has lost in the first three matches. Scotland, which lost to the West Indies and England, had defeated Italy. But Scotland has also been eliminated from the 'Super Eight' race. West Indies and England have reached the second round with 3 wins each from Group 'C'. 

Scotland has arrived at the last minute after Bangladesh did not play the tournament. The team played the first three matches at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Scottish team is playing in Mumbai for the first time. Although Nepal has been playing all 4 matches at Wankhede, it has not been able to take advantage of it in the previous matches. 

Chasing a target of 185 runs to win against England, Nepal had put up a strong challenge by scoring 180 runs but batted very weakly in the matches against Italy and the West Indies. Nepal could not last even 20 overs against Italy and was all out for 123 runs. Nepal, who were invited to bat first against the West Indies, lost 4 wickets after scoring only 42 runs in the first 10 overs.

‘We were able to put our plan into action in the match against England, but then we could not play according to the plan against Italy,’ said Nepal’s South African batting consultant Nick Pothaz, stating that his players were not able to play according to their strategy. ‘The Nepali team is not learning as a group as it should. Nepali players need to work hard to play high-level cricket. The strategy to prevent the problem of losing many wickets in the power play is not being used.’

Batsman Sandeep Jora and all-rounder Bashir Ahmed from Nepal have not yet got a chance. They may get a chance in the last match against Scotland. Apart from Dipendra Singh Airee and Sompal Kami, others from Nepal have not been able to perform well. With the efforts of these two, Nepal made the total score worth watching by adding 91 runs in the last 10 overs against the West Indies on Sunday.

Scotland's leading fast bowler Safyan Sharif has been ruled out of the tournament due to a groin injury. Jack Jarvis has been brought in to replace him. Sharif was injured in training after the match against the West Indies. He then missed two matches. Jarvis was in the travelling team with Scotland. 

Scotland's batsman Tom Bruce says they are aiming to end the World Cup on a high with a victory over Nepal. 'Nepal and Scotland are familiar rivals, both teams have been playing for a long time, our team players are very excited to play against Nepal, but I am playing against Nepal for the first time,' Bruce said, 'Nepal is not able to get results right now. But Nepal is a very challenging opponent. We have also not been able to play as expected. So we are trying to end our journey in the World Cup by defeating Nepal.'

Bruce has previously played for New Zealand. He made his Twenty20 International debut for New Zealand against Bangladesh in Napier in 2017. He has been playing for New Zealand since last year. Bruce has played 17 Twenty20 Internationals for New Zealand, scoring two half-centuries. He last played for New Zealand against India in Mount Maunganui in 2020. He has been playing for Scotland in Twenty20 since this World Cup. He has been playing in the Global Franchise League, from the UAE's IL T20 to England's Vitality Blast and Bangladesh Premier League. 

Bruce has high expectations from the audience for the match against Nepal. 'Whenever the audience comes to Nepal's match, it is a positive aspect for them. When the match was in Scotland, they entered the field after Nepal won, we will try to play with the fans,' he said. 'We had already played against England in Kolkata with a lot of fans. So we don't have much problem playing in front of a large audience.' 

Nepal's match against the West Indies on Sunday had 19,225 spectators, most of whom were Nepali. When Nepal played Italy, 13,406 spectators watched live from Wankhede and when Nepal played England, 17,008 spectators watched. All of those spectators were from Nepal. That's why Wankhede is considered like a second home for Nepal. 

Nepal had toured Scotland in May-June, where Nepal played 2-2 matches against Scotland in the World Cup League 2 and the triangular series. In the League 2 match against Scotland, Karan KC's brave batting performance helped Nepal win by 1 wicket in Dundee. The spectators entered the field in that match. Nepal had won one match against Scotland in the 50-over League 2 match and lost the other match. The result was the same in the triangular series of Twenty20 Internationals held in Glasgow. Scotland is scheduled to visit Kathmandu in May to play a League 2 series.