The positives from playing against Scotland will carry over into the game against the Netherlands
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Looking back is sometimes very painful. For Nepali cricket, the game against Scotland on Sunday will be remembered only if it is heartbreaking. Because in the World Cup Cricket League-2, Scotland defeated Nepal by 2 runs in the last ball competition.
Nepal, who had a huge target of 324 runs, were bowled out for 321 runs after playing the full 50 overs at Fort Hill in Dundee. Top order batsman Bhim Sarki recounts the pain and says that Nepal can take a lot of positive things from the match. He scored the highest 73 runs for Nepal in that match.
It's sad to lose so close but it's a positive message for the next game, coming to a foreign land we have made such a big run for the victory target. This game has given the aspects to be learned,' said Bhim after the pain he got in the last ball against Scotland.
This positive aspect he saw may be useful for Nepal in the match against the Netherlands on Tuesday. This is the last match of Nepal in League 2 of Scotland tour. Nepal defeated Scotland by 1 wicket and Netherlands by 5 wickets in the first two matches respectively. After losing by 2 runs against Scotland in the second match on Sunday, Nepal's consecutive victory journey was stopped.
If Nepal is to end this League 2 series with a high result, it needs to improve a lot in its top order batting and bowling. In both the matches against Scotland, the Nepali bowlers looked very out of rhythm. After playing three games, Asif Sheikh and captain Rohit Paudel are yet to play a big innings in batting.
Captain Scott Edwards may return to the Netherlands team. He was injured while batting in the match against Nepal. He scored 46 runs off 71 balls in that match. However, when he was injured, Noah Crows took over his wicket-keeping duties. Edwards then lost the match against Scotland.
Max O'Dodd, who is captaining the Dutch team in place of Edwards, says that his team did not play well because they could not adapt to the conditions quickly. Nepal, which did not do well against Scotland, bowled well and bowled out the Netherlands for 25 runs in 49.1 overs. After Arif Sheikh scored 78 runs, Nepal completed the target in 78.1 overs. Max says that Nepal is a strong team even though they were at the bottom of League 2 before coming to Scotland. All-rounder Bass de Lied is under contract with county cricket team Durham, leaving the Netherlands vulnerable as he is unavailable for the tour of Scotland.
The Netherlands has become the weakest in terms of results since the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. The Netherlands lost their one-day international status after finishing seventh in the World Cup qualifiers. Nepal was ninth in that journey.
However, in Ligue 2, the Netherlands are in second place with 26 points from 22 games. Nepal has scored 10 points in 14 matches. The top four teams from the eight-nation League 2 will qualify for the World Cup.
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The match played against the home team in the World Cup Cricket League-2 series by Nepal, which is visiting Scotland, was at the height of intense competition. In the last ball contest in Dundee, Nepal managed to reverse the result in one match and Scotland in the other match. Nepal won the first match by 1 wicket in the last ball and lost by 2 runs in the second match. Some of the intense matches between Nepal and Scotland are as follows:
Nepal suffers from the last ball
Dundee, June 8, 2025
After captain Richie Berrington scored 102 runs, Scotland won the toss and opted to bat, losing 6 wickets in the scheduled 50 overs and scoring 323 runs. Nepal's weak fielding was equally responsible for Scotland reaching this score along with their good batting. Also, Nepal's bowling became very thin in the death overs. Scotland scored 123 runs in the last 10 overs losing only 1 wicket. Sompal Kami dropped a normal catch when Michael Lisk was on 14 runs. He hit 12 fours and 3 fours while Lisk made 96 runs off 62 balls.
Nepal had scored 317 runs in 49 overs with the half-centuries of Bhim Sarki, Dipendra Singh Airi and Sompal Kami. This is Nepal's highest score in ODIs. In the last over, Nepal needed 7 runs to win, Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane were at the crease. "Local boy" Safyan Sharif was bowling. He was very expensive with 35 runs in his first 4 overs. But maybe because of understanding the wicket here, Scotland bowled him the last over. Karan took 2 runs in the first ball of the last over but got out after hitting a big shot in the third ball. When Nepal needed 3 runs in the last ball, Sharif bowled Lalit Rajwanshi and gave Scotland a 2 run victory in a dramatic calculation.
Karan's innings and incredible victory
Dundee, 2nd June 2025
Scotland batted first in the League 2 competition and scored 296 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the scheduled 50 overs. After Charlie Tier scored 80 off 72 balls and Finley McCreath scored 55 off 67 balls, Scotland set a huge target for Nepal.
After Karan KC scored an unbeaten 65 runs in 41 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes, Nepal achieved the target in the last ball and succeeded in chasing the biggest victory target in ODIs. After Karan added 2-2 runs in the fourth and fifth balls of the last over, Nepal had to score 1 run in the last ball. In the last ball Rijn Dhakal was given a run out by the leg umpire at the strike end, but the chief umpire gave a wide to the ball that went to the leg side, but Nepal managed to win the match in an incredible way.
Nepal's first 'clean sweep'
Kirtipur, February 21, 2023
Scotland had become the winner of League 2. In the last match of the series, George Muncie scored 60 off 50 balls but the team was bowled out for 212 runs in 46.1 overs. When the Nepali bowlers had completed their responsibilities, now it was the turn of the batting.
But in the 32nd over, Nepal had already lost 8 wickets when they scored 138 runs. Rohit Paudel showed his mature role from here. After he scored an unbeaten 95 off 101 balls, Nepal completed the target in 44.1 overs and made a 'clean sweep' of the League 2 series for the first time.
After hitting the winning boundary off Safyan Sharif, Rohit celebrated by roaring and showing off his muscles. Rohit has been considering this as the best innings of his career. Rohit shared an unbeaten partnership of 75 runs with Karan KC for the ninth wicket. Karan, who took 3 wickets in bowling, again played another useful innings in batting. Karan scored 31 runs off 37 balls with 2 fours and 1 six.
Last over defeat
Ayr, July 29, 2015
Nepal played two matches against Scotland in the World Cricket League Championship after a disappointing performance in the World Twenty20 Qualifiers in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It was not so easy for Nepal to play in local Scottish conditions. In the match shortened in 36 overs due to rain, Scotland made 235 runs with the loss of 7 wickets for captain Preston Mommsen's 78 runs. After Con de Lange scored an unbeaten 55 off 41 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes, Scotland became stronger.
Despite losing Mahesh Chhetri for 21 and Gyanendra Malla for 18 runs, Nepal came close to victory after the incredible batting of Anil Mandal and captain Paras Khadka. Paras scored 70 runs off 55 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. He and Sharad Bheshavkar were dismissed in successive balls. Anil scored 100 runs. For that he hit 9 fours and 1 six while playing 93 balls. But after failing to score 25 runs in the last 2 overs, Nepal had to suffer a 3 run defeat. In the last over, Nepal had to score 17 runs for victory. Safyan Sharif dismissed Anil in the first ball of that over, after spending only 13 runs, Nepal lost 5 wickets and scored only 232 runs.
