T20 World Cup: Scotland, Nepal meet in battle of pride
What's the story
Scotland will take on Nepal in the 33rd match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The clash is set to take place at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. The upcoming contest is apparently a dead rubber as the two Group C teams to qualify for Super 8s have already been determined (England and West Indies). Here is the preview of the upcoming clash.
Team performance
Scotland's journey so far
Scotland started their World Cup campaign with a 35-run defeat against the West Indies. They then bounced back with a 73-run victory over Italy. However, their last match against England ended in a five-wicket loss, leaving them on the brink of playoff elimination. They have played some fine cricket in this tourney and would like to sign off in style.
Team struggle
Nepal's campaign in the World Cup
Nepal started their campaign with a close four-run loss to England but was then crushed by debutants Italy in their second match. They suffered another heavy defeat against the West Indies, losing by nine wickets. Despite these setbacks, Rohit Paudel's men are determined to end their campaign on a high note with a victory over Scotland. In their head-to-head T20I encounters, Nepal have one win and a defeat apiece versus Scotland.
Pitch analysis
Pitch report and conditions
The average first innings score at the Wankhede Stadium in the ongoing tourney has been around 160. Out of five matches, teams batting first have won three while chasing teams have emerged victorious twice. The pitch hasn't been as batting-friendly as it usually is in the Indian Premier League (IPL), providing some assistance to bowlers. Meanwhile, the match will be broadcasted on JioStar Network Channels and live-streamed on JioHotstar (7:00pm IST).
XIs
Here are the probable playing XIs
Scotland (Probable XI): George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington (c), Tom Bruce, Michael Leask, Matthew Cross (wk), Mark Watt, Oliver Davidson, Brad Currie, Brad Wheal. Nepal (Probable XI): Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Rohit Paudel (c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Lokesh Bam, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane.
Performers
Here are the key performers
Earlier in the tourney, Michael Leask starred with his all-round heroics against Italy. After slamming a five-ball 22*, the spinner claimed 4/17 from his four overs. George Munsey ended up scoring 84 off just 54 balls in the game. Dipendra Singh recently became the first Nepal player to complete 2,000 runs in T20I cricket. According to ESPNcricinfo, Sandeep Lamichhane's economy rate of 6.15 is the second-best among bowlers with 130-plus T20I wickets.