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Dipendra Singh Airee's blistering half-century guided Nepal to seal their first-ever victory in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup after the Rhinos defeated Scotland by seven wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
After being asked to bat first, Scotland started their innings on a strong note. They raced away to 52/0 in the powerplay. However, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel broke the 80-run stand between Michael Jones and George Munsey after he removed Munsey for 27 off 29 balls, with four boundaries during the last ball of the 10th over. Scotland kept up the scoring rate, piling 131/1 in 15 overs. Michael Jones kept Scotland on the offensive for the most part with a standout innings of 71 off 45 balls, with the help of eight fours and three sixes. However, things changed pretty quickly for Scotland, after experienced Sompal Kami brought Nepal back into the contest with two wickets in the 16th over. After he castled Jones, Kami took a brilliant return catch to remove Brandon McMullen (25) as Scotland slumped to 133/3. In the last five overs, Scotland scored 39 runs and somehow reached 170/7. For Nepal, Kami finished with 3/25 in his four overs. Chasing 171, Nepal's openers began their chase on a superb note. Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh amassed 56 runs in the first six overs to ease their side into the chase. However, Michael Leask broke the opening partnership between Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh to bring Scotland back into the game. The opening duo added 74 runs off 9.1 overs before Leask managed to induce a miscued shot off Bhurtel (43). Leask then nabbed another wicket in his opening burst, getting the better of Aasif Sheikh with 94 runs on the board. However, Dipendra Singh Airee (50* off 24 balls, with four boundaries and three fours) and Gulsan Jha (24* off 17 balls, with one four and two sixes) stitched a match-winning 73-run stand for the fourth wicket to help Nepal chase down the target in 19.2 overs. (ANI)
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