Mumbai: Dipendra Singh Airee blazed away to an unbeaten fifty as Nepal defeated Scotland by seven wickets in their final T20 World Cup Group C clash here on Tuesday.
Airee smashed 50 off 23 deliveries after Kushal Bhurtel scored a 35-ball 43 to overhaul the 171-run target with four balls to spare.
Opting to bowl, Nepal restricted Scotland to 170 for 7 despite Michael Jones’s 45-ball 71.
Nepal had gone winless since 2014 when they beat Afghanistan and the Netherlands on their T20 World Cup debut, but the Rhinos signed off from this edition with a memorable victory in front of more than 19,000 fans at the Wankhede Stadium.
Chasing 171, Nepal responded with 171/3 in 19.2 overs, Airee’s quickfire 50 not out off 23 balls, including three sixes and four fours, being the highlight of their spirited chase, along with Bhurtel’s (43) inspired start.
Gulsan Jha (24 not out) also chipped in with two towering sixes at a crucial juncture, putting on an unbeaten 73-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Opener Kushal Bhurtel had a narrow escape when Brad Currie dropped a return catch and the Nepal opener rubbed salt on the wound with a huge six over long-on in the second over.
Under pressure, Nepal made a rather cautious start but took charge once their eye was in.
Aasif Sheikh (33) opened up with a six over fine leg in the fourth over, and in the next, Bhurtel clattered two sixes and a four off Mark Watt. As many as 23 runs came off Watt as Aasif finished with another powerful hit over square leg.
However, Nepal couldn’t sustain the momentum of raking in big runs as following overs from Scottish spinners saw the pressure building on the batters, resulting in a few wickets.
Bhurtel mishit a sweep off Michael Leask (3/30) and was caught at midwicket for a sparkling 43 off 35 balls with four sixes and a four. Soon after, Aasif went back in the hut when a thick edge off his bat was collected by Brad Wheal at short third off Leask.
Leask appeared to be all over Nepal when he had their skipper Rohit Paudel (16) caught by backward square leg in the 14th over. But in his final over, Airee hammered two on-side sixes and a four to collect 20 runs off the 16th.
Jha completed the formalities with a four off the 20th over, as Nepal won with four balls to spare.
Earlier, Michael Jones stroked a solid half-century before Nepal’s bowlers staged a late comeback to limit Scotland to 170 for 7 in their inconsequential T20 World Cup Group C match .
Both the teams are out of reckoning for the Super 8s with the West Indies and England advancing to the next round from the group.
Barring Jones, who struck eight fours and three sixes in his superb knock of 71 from 45 balls, the Scottish batters failed to convert their starts on a flat deck at the Wankhede Stadium.
Jones did the heavy-lifting during the 80-run stand for the opening wicket with George Munsey, who failed to get any momentum despite staying in the middle till the halfway mark of Scotland’s innings.
While the right-handed Jones pierced gaps comfortably and hit boundaries at regular intervals, Munsey struggled as he managed a sedate 27 runs off 29 balls with four boundaries.
Munsey’s frustration finally ended in the 10th over, when he miscued the full toss from Rohit Paudel as Sundeep Jora completed a fine catch diving forward at long-on.
