In a victory that was a long time coming, Nepal on Tuesday defeated Scotland by seven wickets in their last group stage match of the ICC T20 World Cup at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The win was a much-needed consolation for Nepal, who had opened the World Cup on a promising note but had put on an underwhelming performance in the next two matches.

Both Nepal and Scotland had already crashed out of the tournament. And despite the victory, Nepal finished last in the group, from which West Indies and England advanced to Super 8.

With Tuesday’s victory, the Rhinos gave thousands of supporters who had travelled to Mumbai from across India and around the world something to take home to.

From local Mumbaikars to cricket enthusiasts following the tournament across continents, there was a shared hope: that Nepal would sign off their campaign on a high.

Nepal had already captured global attention when they pushed England to the brink in their tournament opener on February 8. Falling short by just four runs, the Rhinos gave a scare to one of the world’s cricketing giants and sent pulses racing. The Rhinos were suddenly the talk of the town—in Mumbai and beyond.

The momentum, however, faltered. A crushing 10-wicket defeat to Italy on February 10 was followed by a nine-wicket loss to the West Indies on February 15, leaving the Rhinos at rock bottom.

Nepal were finally able to end their losing streak against Scotland, when the iconic Wankhede roared to life as thousands of Nepali fans witnessed history—Nepal’s first T20 World Cup victory in 12 years.

Nepal’s previous win in the tournament had come against Afghanistan on March 20, 2014. They endured a winless campaign in their second appearance in 2024, though they came agonisingly close to upsetting South Africa, losing to the Proteas by a single run.

Airee’s show

If one player defined Nepal’s 2026 T20 World Cup journey, it was Dipendra Singh Airee. Nicknamed “Tiger” back home for his fearless all-round prowess, Airee led from the front with bat, ball and in the field. His commanding performance against Scotland encapsulated his tournament—composed under pressure, relentless in intent, and unafraid of the big stage.

There was only one individual half-century for Nepal in a T20 World Cup since 2014 until Airee scored Nepal’s second 50 in the T20 main event against the mighty West Indies on Sunday.

He had fallen short of six runs for the half-century against England, while he could only manage 17 off 18 against Italy.

But the 50 against Scotland was special as it came with Nepal’s win. Airee ran for a single in the first ball of the last over to complete his fifty in 23 balls, which was studded with four fours and three sixes. Nepal then required four runs off five deliveries to complete the chase of 171 runs with seven wickets in hand.

Gulshan Kumar Jha, who then came to the striker’s end, hit the ball towards the long-on. It looked as if George Munsey had saved a four on the boundary line, but a review saw that Munsey had touched the rope while saving the boundary.

And then there was a party at Wankhede for the Rhinos army.

Airee and Jha (24 off 17) had a 73-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

“Thanks to the fans. In the last World Cup we didn’t win a single match. So [this win is] very important for us,” Airee said in the post-match presentation after receiving the Player of the Match award. “One of the best innings. The England match was a learning experience. This is good for us.”

Alongside Airee, the two Nepali openers were great with the bat against Scotland. Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh built a 74-run partnership for the first wicket. The duo was getting close to fifty, but Bhurtel departed at 43 off 35 and Sheikh at 33 off 27. Skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel added 16 off 14.

Nepali batters hammered 11 sixes against Scotland and four fours.

“The atmosphere was incredible. We always knew it would be a tough game against Nepal, with the crowd behind them,” Scotland’s skipper Richie Berrington said after the loss. “But full credit to Airee, he changed the momentum of the game.”

There was only one Scottish bowler who troubled Nepal. Michael Leask alone took all three Nepali wickets.

‘Gulmi Express’ at Wankhede

Sompal Kami—nicknamed ‘Gulmi Express’ in reference to the Pakistan bowling great Shoaib Akhtar—was prolific with the ball for Nepal on Tuesday.

Michael Jones and George Munsey opened for Scotland after Nepal invited them to bat first as Paudel won the toss for the first time in four matches.

They built an 80-run partnership for the first wicket until Munsey (27 off 29) departed as the first wicket in the last ball of the 10th over. But Jones, on the other hand, kept hitting.

Jones, with Brandon McMullen, took the score to 132 runs, with his individual score at 71 (three sixes and eight fours). As he was looking more dangerous, Kami came to the rescue, getting him clean bowled. Two deliveries later, Kami gave another relief by getting McMullen (25 off 19) caught with a single hand in his own delivery.

Kami took his third wicket in the fourth ball of the 19th over as experienced Tom Bruce (5 off 6) was also clean bowled with a change in pace. Kami celebrated his third wicket with the ‘zen celebration’.

Nandan Yadav picked two wickets against Scotland, while Paudel and Bhurtel picked one each to restrict the Scottish side to 170/7 in the first inning.

Nepali fielders dropped two catches on Thursday—McMullen at 15 by Sundeep Jora and Richie Berrington at 2 by Lokesh Bam. But the Nepali batters more than made up for them.

“This means a lot to me, my second World Cup as captain, and winning the last game of the league stage was very important to us as a team,” skipper Paudel said in the post-match presentation. “Dipendra led the way. After our game against England, the fans started booking tickets and supported us to the last game.”

After the end of the match, Nepali fans crowded Marine Drive and let Mumbai, and the world, know that Nepal had just won a match, and the team was here to stay at the top level.