Nepal beat Scotland by 7 wickets at Wankhede Stadium on February 17, 2026, ending a 12-year wait for a T20 World Cup victory. It had been 4,352 days since Nepal last won a match at this tournament, which was back in 2014 against Afghanistan and the Netherlands. Over 19,000 fans watched Nepal chase down 171 with 4 balls to spare in a Group C match where both teams had already been knocked out.
Scotland posted 170 for 7 in their 20 overs. Nepal reached 171 for 3 in 19.2 overs. Dipendra Singh Airee scored 50 not out off just 23 balls to finish the chase. His fifty came off the same number of balls as the fastest fifties by Associate nations in T20 World Cup history.
Airee Finished What Bhurtel Started
Nepal’s chase began quickly. Kushal Bhurtel scored 43 off 35 balls with 4 sixes and 1 four. He got a life early when Scotland’s Brad Currie dropped a catch off his batting. Bhurtel responded by hitting the very next ball for six over long-on. That moment changed the match.
Aasif Sheikh added 33 at the top before Nepal lost three quick wickets in the middle overs. Captain Rohit Paudel was out for 16. At that point, Nepal still needed runs and the pressure was building. Airee came in and took control. He hit 3 sixes and 4 fours in his knock and faced only 2 dot balls in his entire innings. His strike rate was over 217. Gulshan Jha supported him with 24 not out, including 2 sixes. The pair added 73 runs without getting out to seal the win.
This was Airee’s second fifty of the tournament. He had earlier scored 58 against the West Indies match and 44 against England in their opening game. Across four matches, he was Nepal’s most consistent performer with both bat and ball.
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Scotland Could Not Defend 170
Scotland built a strong start through Michael Jones and George Munsey. The pair put on 80 runs for the first wicket. Jones scored 71 off 45 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes. Munsey made 27 off 29 balls. After that opening stand broke, Scotland struggled to keep the momentum going. They scored 59 runs in the last 5 overs but the total of 170 was not enough on a good batting surface.
Sompal Kami was the best bowler for Nepal, taking 3 wickets for 25 runs. He dismissed Jones with a brilliant one-handed return catch that got the Wankhede crowd on their feet. Kami is now the only player to feature in all three of Nepal’s T20 World Cup wins. He was part of the 2014 victories over Afghanistan and the Netherlands, and now this win over the Scotland squad in 2026. At 35 years old, this may have been his last World Cup appearance, and he made it count.
Why This Match Mattered
Both Nepal and Scotland were already out of the tournament before this game. West Indies and England had qualified for the Super 8 from Group C. But for Nepal, this was not just another match. It was about ending 12 years of pain. It was about showing their fans that they could compete and win on the biggest stage. The 19,000 people who showed up at Wankhede proved how much this game meant.
Nepal had lost to England by just 4 runs in their opening match. They then lost heavily to Italy and West Indies. The defeats hurt, but this win gave Nepal something to take home. It reminded everyone that Associate cricket is growing and deserves its place in a 20-team World Cup format.
For Scotland, it was a disappointing end to the tournament. They had shown promise by beating Italy earlier, but could not get past the bigger teams in the group. Their bowlers tried hard but could not stop Airee once he got going.
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