Nepal hosted Scotland in the ICC CWC League-2 fixture at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday, it was expected to be a tight contest. The history between the two teams suggested as much.

In the previous 10 ODI encounters between the duo, Nepal had won five times, while one match had ended without a result. Their League-2 encounter in Dallas, USA, on November 4, 2024, was washed out by rain.

A similar scenario—rain washing away the fixture—was on the doorsteps in Kirtipur on Tuesday as well. But the weather allowed the play in the end.

Electing to bat first, Scotland posted 243/8 in the allocated overs. It began to rain during the innings break.

A 114-run partnership for the first wicket between George Munsey and Finlay McCreath gave the visitors a solid start.

Munsey (75 off 62) was the first wicket to depart for Scotland, with Sandeep Lamichhane getting the breakthrough in the 21st over. Lamichhane then took care of the other three top-order Scottish batsmen.

Lamichhane saw McCreath (35 off 62) depart for a leg-before, Brandon McMullen (7 off 9) clean bowled and skipper Richie Berrington (5 off 12) also struck lbw.

Michael English, who was returning to the Scotland squad after his debut match against Namibia—where he scored his maiden century (107 off 122) in July 2024—stayed not out at 34 off 72. Powerful hitters Mark Watt (24 off 18) and Michael Leask (29 off 23) also could not meet the expectations.

Karan KC and Nandan Yadav also picked two wickets each.

After a brief delay due to rain, Nepal got a revised target: 221 runs in 39 overs.

The target did not seem difficult—221 runs in 234 balls. However, in the lack of a good start, the Rhinos were in trouble.

Early departures of Binod Bhandari (10 off 15) and Arjun Kumal (0 off 2) saw other Nepali batters under pressure. Aasif Sheikh (21 off 47) tried preserving his wicket, but he played a misjudged shot and got caught out in the 14th over.

It was thanks to a 76-run partnership for the third wicket between skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel and vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee that brought Nepal back in the chase.

But when they departed in quick succession—Paudel (32 off 46) in 25.4 overs and Airee (55 off 49) in 26.6 overs—Nepal were back in trouble.

Further, with Aarif Sheikh (3 off 5) also failing, all the hopes now were on the shoulders of Gulshan Kumar Jha and experienced Karan KC.

And they did meet the expectations. By the time of the last over, Jha had taken Nepal close. The hosts only required 13 runs off the last six deliveries to win.

However, Jha, who had sustained an injury in the ankle due to a mishit, could not collect the remaining runs with Nandan Yadav.

Nine runs were required off the last three balls. But when Jha, who postponed his half-century celebration until he won it for Nepal, conceded two consecutive dot deliveries, all thanks to short deliveries away from the left-hander, it was all over.

Though Jha hit the last ball for a six, Nepal still fell short and lost the first match of the League-2 tri-series, comprising the USA.

It was the third time Nepal hosted Scotland at TU Ground. And it was the first time Nepal lost to the Scots at home. Previously, Nepal had defeated Scotland in the two League-2 fixtures in February 2023.

Meanwhile, Scotland have levelled the points with table topper USA in the League-2 points table with the win over Nepal. The USA and Scotland have 36 points each from 24 and 29 matches, respectively. The two toppers will come face-to-face at TU Ground on Thursday.