Nepal beat Scotland by six wickets in Kirtipur on Monday to climb to fifth in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 standings on 22 points, dragging the home side back into a 2027 qualification race the table had nearly closed on them. Lalit Rajbanshi’s 4 for 32 and an unbeaten 74 from skipper Rohit Paudel were enough to put the table-toppers under, with Scotland bowled out for 194 in 39.1 overs at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground.
The result narrows a gap that had been widening since April. Fourth-placed Netherlands, the last team currently inside the four-spot qualification window for the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier pathway, now sits six points ahead with a more forgiving schedule still to come.
How the Match Unfolded at Kirtipur
Scotland won the toss and chose to bat on a surface that has favoured spin all series. The early signs read like a Scotland innings. Brandon McMullen, the right-handed Scotland opener, hammered 73 from 44 balls at the top, finding the fence eight times before he holed out to deep midwicket. Middle-order batter Michael English added 51, the only other Scotland player to clear fifty.
Then Nepal’s slow bowlers turned the match. Sandeep Lamichhane, the leg-spinner back in the side after a quiet domestic stretch, picked up 3 for 47. Left-arm orthodox spinner Rajbanshi was the day’s wrecker, finishing with 4 for 32 from his eight overs to close out the Scotland innings at 194 all out, according to the ICC match report from Kirtipur.
Nepal’s reply did not start carefully. Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh, the home wicketkeeper, added 58 inside 6.3 overs, a burst built on Bhurtel’s drives through cover and a flurry of pulls from Sheikh. Scotland responded with two wickets in five deliveries, but the partnership had already done the chase a favour. Ishan Pandey, the left-handed batter who is also a practising medical doctor, came in at three and made 55 on his second one-day international (ODI, cricket’s 50-over format) appearance. Paudel finished 74 not out and Nepal closed on 199 for 4 in 38.1 overs.
The Spin Pair That Broke Scotland
Tribhuvan University Ground has consistently rewarded slow bowling through this League 2 cycle, and the Rajbanshi-Lamichhane combination has been the joint architect of nearly every Nepal home win since the start of 2024. Rajbanshi’s afternoon took him past 50 ODI wickets in his international career; he came into the day on 47 from 41 matches at an average of 25.38, per his ESPNcricinfo profile. The left-arm orthodox bowler had already become the first player to take 100 wickets in the country’s domestic Prime Minister Cup, a competition that has now produced both of Nepal’s main international spinners.
- 4/32 Rajbanshi’s match-winning figures from eight overs, his best ODI return at home this cycle
- 3/47 Lamichhane’s haul, his most in a one-day international since his return to the side
- 7 of 10 Scotland wickets claimed by Nepal’s spinners
- 194 Scotland’s lowest first-innings total against Nepal in League 2
Scotland’s two best players of spin, McMullen at the top and English in the middle, both fell to right-arm seam, which meant the run-makers were gone before the slow bowlers came on hardest. By the 25th over, Scotland were 137 for 5 and Rajbanshi was rolling through the tail. The collapse from 137 for 5 to 194 all out covered just fourteen overs.
Pandey and Paudel Anchor the Chase
Paudel walked in at 60 for 2 with the asking rate still under five and the surface starting to grip. He waited. His first 25 balls produced 14 runs.
Pandey gave him the room to settle. The 28-year-old had made his ODI debut earlier in this same series against the United States on May 16, and his 55 from 76 balls on Monday was his second international half-century in three days. The pair added a 104-run third-wicket stand across nineteen overs, dragging Nepal past 100, killing Scotland’s hope of squeezing the middle overs, and giving the captain room to switch gears once the new ball softened.
Mark Watt, the Scotland left-arm spinner, picked up two near the end, including Pandey caught at long-on. With eleven needed off the final five overs, Paudel reached his 16th ODI fifty and finished the chase with a clipped two to deep square leg.
The unbeaten 74 continued a quiet run that has not had the attention his bowling unit gets. Since the start of 2026, Paudel has averaged comfortably above 40 in one-day international cricket and has not been dismissed for under 25 in his last eight innings at home.
Where Nepal Now Sits in League 2
Monday’s win lifts Nepal to fifth on 22 points, level with Namibia on points but ahead on net run rate (NRR, the per-over differential used as the first tiebreak in cricket league tables). The standings below capture the picture after the 106th match of the cycle.
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scotland | 31 | 16 | 9 | 38 | +0.767 |
| 2 | United States | 26 | 18 | 8 | 36 | +0.826 |
| 3 | Oman | 28 | 14 | 11 | 31 | +0.018 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 24 | 13 | 9 | 28 | +0.165 |
| 5 | Nepal | 27 | 10 | 15 | 22 | -0.083 |
| 6 | Namibia | 28 | 10 | 16 | 22 | -0.491 |
| 7 | Canada | 24 | 9 | 12 | 21 | -0.209 |
| 8 | UAE | 24 | 7 | 17 | 14 | -1.016 |
Source: official ICC League 2 standings, updated after Match 106. Scotland holds the leadership only on points. The United States, which Nepal plays again on Thursday, sits on a better net run rate with three fewer matches recorded. Both teams remain comfortably inside the top-four window that will send qualifying sides to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, the next stage on the road to the main tournament being co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year.
Nepal’s gap to fourth-placed Netherlands is six points, or three wins. Each ODI victory is worth two points; ties and no-results pay one. Below the home side, Namibia, Canada and the UAE remain mathematically alive but have fewer matches left to play in their windows.
The USA Rematch on Thursday
Nepal’s home tri-series, which has also included Scotland, has three group fixtures still to play. The most consequential is Thursday.
- Tuesday, May 19: USA versus Scotland at Kirtipur, with Nepal on a rest day
- Thursday, May 22: Nepal versus the United States, the final group fixture, 9:15 am local time
- Series closes without a final; points carry directly into the wider League 2 table
Nepal opened the tri-series with a loss to Scotland, then thumped the United States, then handled Scotland again on Monday. A win on Thursday would make it three out of four in this window and push Nepal to a likely 24 points, with a handful of away matches left in the cycle, per the wider schedule still to be confirmed by the Cricket Association of Nepal.
The United States side that visits Kirtipur on Thursday is more dangerous than the one Nepal handled earlier this month. Top-order batter Andries Gous and seamer Saurabh Netravalkar both rejoined the squad after Major League Cricket commitments, and the visitors lead the table on net run rate even without recent form on the subcontinent.
Paudel, speaking after the Scotland match, framed the rest of the series narrowly. He has said throughout this cycle that Nepal’s qualification window opens with home wins; the away leg of the next tri-series in Namibia in July will test that argument on tougher surfaces.
The Math Behind the Top-Four Race
Nepal need to overhaul one of Scotland, the United States, Oman or the Dutch side. The realistic target is Netherlands.
The Dutch have nine matches still to play across their final two tri-series windows of 2026, against opposition that includes Canada and the UAE.
Even a 4-5 record from there would put them on 36 points. To climb above that, Nepal would need to win seven of their remaining matches, by current schedule estimates, while ensuring net run rate does not collapse on the road.
The NRR question is uglier than the points one. Nepal sit on -0.083 with 27 matches played, a residue of close losses earlier in the cycle that the larger wins this month have only partially repaired. Monday’s chase did less for the run-rate column than the scoreboard implied; Nepal won with eleven overs and six wickets unused, but the gap between innings totals was just five runs.
If Nepal beat the United States on Thursday and add at least one win in the Namibia tri-series in July, the math opens. If Thursday goes the other way, fifth becomes a ceiling the home side has to break in the November away leg, with Scotland and the Dutch both already past the tri-series Nepal still has left to play.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Was the Final Score of Nepal Versus Scotland on May 18?
Nepal won by six wickets, chasing down 195 with 199 for 4 in 38.1 overs. Scotland posted 194 all out in 39.1 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.
Who Was the Standout Bowler in the Nepal Win?
Lalit Rajbanshi took four wickets for 32 runs in eight overs and was named Player of the Match. Sandeep Lamichhane added three for 47 at the other end, with the spin pair accounting for seven of the ten Scotland wickets that fell.
Where Does Nepal Now Sit in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 Table?
Nepal climbed to fifth on 22 points after Match 106, level with Namibia on points but ahead on net run rate. Scotland still leads the eight-team table on 38 points; the United States, Oman and the Dutch fill the other three top-four spots.
When Is Nepal’s Next League 2 Match?
Nepal next play the United States on Thursday, May 22, at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, scheduled for a 9:15 am local start. It is the final group fixture of the current home tri-series.
How Does League 2 Feed Into the 2027 Cricket World Cup?
The top four sides from the eight-team League 2 cycle progress to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. From that qualifier, the top four teams earn places at the main 14-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in late 2027.
