Nepal wrap up a memorable League 2 leg in Scotland

By Cricketing Country | Posted Posted Jun 11, 2025

Nepal ended their fourth leg of the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 on a high, sealing a 16-run win over Netherlands at the Forfarshire Cricket Club in Dundee.

They finished the tour with three wins from four matches — doing the double over Netherlands and edging past hosts Scotland once. A narrow two-run defeat against Scotland on Tuesday denied them a clean sweep.

Nepal came into the final match with three changes. Anil Sah, debutant Nandan Yadav, and Basir Ahamad were brought in for Asif Sheikh, Sompal Kami, and Gulshan Jha. Both Sompal and Gulshan are ruled out of the tour due to injuries.

Batting first, Nepal posted 236/9. The innings saw a rare moment of drama when Netherlands were awarded 10 penalty runs — after Basir Ahamad ran into the protected area of the pitch in both the 37th and 40th overs. The chase thus started at 10/0.

Despite the advantage of 10 penalty runs, Netherlands fell short. They were bowled out for 220, 16 runs away from the target, with four balls remaining.

Nepal’s innings was rocked early by Paul van Meekeren, who removed both openers inside the powerplay. Kushal Bhurtel made 18, while Anil Sah fell for 2.

Bhim Sharki and captain Rohit Paudel steadied the innings with a 59-run stand for the third wicket. Both batters contributed 35 each.

Aarif Sheikh anchored the innings with a career-best 84 off 85 balls, striking seven fours and two sixes. It was his second Player of the Match performance in the tour.

Chasing 237 on a moist surface — affected by overnight rain — Netherlands struggled against spin. Six of their ten wickets fell to spinners.

Sandeep Lamichhane picked up 3 for 39 in his full quota. Lalit Rajbanshi was economical, conceding just 29 runs for a wicket in 10 overs. Kushal Bhurtel chipped in with the key wicket of Noah Croes, who made 22.

Debutant Nandan Yadav impressed with the ball, returning figures of 3 for 39 in 9 overs. Karan KC was expensive but claimed a wicket in the final over to close out the match.

Wesley Barresi top-scored for Netherlands with 36 off 60, while Scott Edwards made 30 before he was bowled by Lalit. Despite starting their chase at 10/0, Netherlands were bowled out for 220.

Nepal now shift focus to the upcoming T20I Tri-Series featuring the same opponents, while Netherlands take on Scotland in the final fixture of the leg on Thursday.