Mumbai, Feb 17 – Kushal Bhurtel's early performance and Dipendra Singh Airee's unbeaten fifty helped Nepal end their 12-year-long winless streak in the T20 World Cup with a 7-wicket victory against Scotland in an inconsequential Group C match here on Tuesday.
Nepal had been winless since 2014, when they beat Afghanistan and the Netherlands in their T20 World Cup debut, but the Rhinos ended this edition with a memorable victory in front of over 19,000 fans at the Wankhede Stadium.
Chasing 171, Nepal responded with 171/3 in 19.2 overs, with Airee's quickfire 50 off 23 balls, featuring three sixes and four fours, being the highlight, along with Bhurtel's (43) impressive start.
Gulsan Jha (24 not out) also contributed with two towering sixes at a crucial juncture, putting on an unbeaten 73-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Earlier, Bhurtel had a narrow escape when Brad Currie dropped a return catch, and Bhurtel then hit a huge six over long-on in the second over.
Despite the pressure, Nepal started cautiously but quickly found their rhythm.
Aasif Sheikh (33) opened with a six over fine leg in the fourth over, and in the next, Bhurtel hit two sixes and a four off Mark Watt. Watt conceded 23 runs, and Aasif finished with another powerful hit over square leg.
However, Nepal couldn't maintain the momentum, as Scottish spinners put pressure on the batters, resulting in a few wickets.
Bhurtel mistimed 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 was dismissed when a thick edge off his bat was caught by Brad Wheal at short third off Leask.
Leask dominated Nepal, dismissing their captain Rohit Paudel (16) caught at backward square leg in the 14th over. However, Airee hit two on-side sixes and a four in the 16th over, scoring 20 runs.
Jha completed the formalities with a four off the 20th over, as Nepal won by four balls to spare.
Earlier, Michael Jones' brisk 71 helped Scotland reach 170/7.
Both teams were out of contention for the Super Eights, as the West Indies and England advanced to the next round from the group.
Besides Jones, who hit eight fours and three sixes in his 45-ball knock, Scottish batters struggled to convert their starts but still managed to reach a competitive total on a flat pitch.
Jones contributed significantly in his 80-run opening stand with George Munsey, who struggled to find his rhythm despite staying in the middle till the halfway mark of Scotland's innings.
While Jones comfortably hit gaps and timed his shots to score boundaries, Munsey could only manage 27 runs off 29 balls with four boundaries.
Munsey's frustration was evident when he was caught off Paudel's full toss in the 10th over. Scottish opener Sundeep Jora then made a fine diving catch at long-on.
However, Jora and Nepal appeared to have secured a catch when McMullen hit one off Nandan Yadav in the 14th over.
Positioned at mid-on, Jora didn't have to move more than five paces, but he missed the catch, and the ball went through his hands and landed on the ground.
Jones continued his big hitting and hit a 94m six straight to Tom Bruce in the 18th over.
However, Jones' innings ended soon after when Sompal Kami (3/25) dismissed the Scotland opener and took a brilliant return catch off McMullen in the 16th over.
