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Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee acknowledges cricket fans after his team won against Scotland during the T20 World Cup cricket match in Mumbai on February 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
For the fourth time in less than two weeks, a sea of red and blue descended on the Wankhede Stadium. And it turned out to be a case of fourth-time lucky for Nepal as it ended its T20 World Cup sojourn by gifting the 19,000-odd fans a much-anticipated win against Scotland.
The two Michaels — Jones and Leask — excelled with the willow and the orb, respectively, to put Scotland in the ascendancy. But a late charge in both halves of the game meant Nepal eventually crossed the target of 171 with four balls to spare and seven wickets in hand on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) night.
Veteran all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee (50 n.o., 23b, 4×4, 3×6) turned out to be Nepal’s star. His unbroken 73-run partnership off 36 balls with left-hander Gulshan Jha took it home. When Jha walked out to bat, Nepal required 73 off 40 balls and with offie Leask having claimed all three wickets, Scotland was in charge.
Airee started the onslaught by targeting Leask in the 16th over that went for 20 runs, with two maximums on the on-side. However, it was Jha who played the shot of the day, an inside-out lofted drive off pacer Brad Currie that sailed into the Divecha Pavilion over covers.
With the target in sight, Airee preferred to rotate strike. Nepal needed five off the final over bowled by Brad Wheal and Jha finished it off with a four through midwicket.
Had it not been for the bowlers pulling it back in the last five overs, Nepal would have been chasing a bigger target. At 131 for one in 15 overs and Jones well-set, Scotland was eyeing 200. But Sompal Kami spun a web as Nepal claimed six for 39 in the last five overs to swing the contest in its favour.
The scores: Scotland 170/7 in 20 overs (Michael Jones 71, Sompal Kami 3/25, Nandan Yadav 2/34) lost to Nepal 171/3 in 19.2 overs (Kushal Bhurtel 43, Aasif Sheikh 33, Dipendra Singh Airee 50 n.o., Michael Leask 3/30).
Toss: Nepal; PoM: Airee.
Published – February 17, 2026 07:20 pm IST
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T20 World Cup: Airee stars as Nepal finishes on a high
