T20 World Cup 2026, Match 33: Airee blitz downs Scotland as Nepal end on a high

Match Overview

Nepal and Scotland faced off in Match 33 of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Winning the toss, Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel opted to bowl.

Scotland openers came out swinging as they found the fence at least once each over until the ninth, with Michael Jones the aggressor in the 80-run opening stand with George Munsey, who scored a sedate 27 off 29 with four boundaries before being sent back by Paudel in the 10th. Jones continued on his merry ways with Brendon McMullen (25 off 19), as they stitched another half-century stand, adding 52 in 32 balls to keep the team on course for a daunting total.

Nepal's bowlers were repeatedly taken to the cleaners until Sompal Kami cleaned up Jones in the 16th over and produced a moment of sheer brilliance only two balls later, grabbing McMullen's one-handed reflex catch in his follow-through to leave each one at the venue stunned. The twin strikes turned out to be the start of a dramatic collapse as Scotland slid from 132 for 1 to 162 for 7, eventually being restricted to 170. Kami returned as the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 25, while Nandan Yadav (2 for 34), Kushal Bhurtel (1 for 37) and Paudel (1 for 12) were also amongst the wickets.

In reply, Nepal did not display immediate aggression like their opponents but made up for it with a 23-run fifth over against Mark Watt as Bhurtel slammed 4, 6, 6 to shift the momentum. Bhurtel added 74 for the first wicket with Aasif Sheikh before Michael Leask applied the brakes, striking immediately after being introduced into the attack. Bhurtel fell for 43 off 35, while Aasif departed for 33 off 27 only two overs later, and Leask had his third when he sent back Paudel (16 off 14) in his next over, with Nepal suddenly pushed on the backfoot.

That was until Dipendra Singh Airee, for the umpteenth time, served a reminder of his brute power, notching up an unbeaten half-century in merely 23 balls with four fours and three sixes, ably supported by Gulshan Jha's unbeaten 17-ball 23 with two sixes and a solitary four in a 73-run fourth-wicket stand in just 36 balls, which was the highlight of the innings.

Leask, so impressive until that point, bore the brunt of Airee's breathtaking assault in a 20-run over in front of a raucous crowd, while the Brads - Wheal and Currie - were dismantled with the same ruthlessness as Nepal crossed the line with seven wickets and four balls to spare. 

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the match

Dipendra Singh Airee

Airee was deservedly adjudged as the Player of the Match, as he scripted Nepal's recovery after Leask's triple strikes in quick time had left them on the precipice. Airee's intent was visible from the onset, as he joined Jha to turn the match on its head with the match-defining partnership. 

What the captains said 

Winning Team Captain, Rohit Paudel (Nepal)

"I think this means a lot to me, especially this is my second World Cup as captain and winning my first game in the last league stage. So, I think this win was very important to us, not only me, but us as a team. And the way Dipendra Airee played, I think that was incredible.

"(On what the win means for their fans) I think for them also, this win was very important because they saw our game against England. The crowd was already here and then they started booking tickets and they again came here. And the way we wanted to play, we didn't execute our plan, but still they stayed here and supported us till the last game. So I think this game, this win was very important to them also. And you can imagine when we play in home, the crowd, and now we are playing away, but still the way they have been come here, come here in Wankhede and supported us, that has been great.

"(On the last 5-6 overs with the ball) I think that was very important, especially the way they got the start in the powerplay and then in the middle overs. So I think to slow down and restrict them in 170, I think that our death bowling was great. And the communication was very simple that we'll try to restrict as less boundaries because we were trying to focus more on dot balls rather than taking wickets. So that was the key point in the death overs.

"(On not having a wobble in the chase) Yeah, especially this is not the way we wanted to play, but it happens naturally. And we knew that when Deepi dai and Gulshan were there in the middle, that they'll finish the game for us, especially both were set. Deepi dai was batting really well. And I think the way he played in this tournament, I think he deserved this, today's man of the match. And he has great talent.

"(Close game against England helped?) I think that has helped a lot, especially we knew when pressure situations comes in, to keep our nerves calm because that is very important in the last stages because at the same time, both bowlers and batsmen, both are in pressure. And if you stay calm, and I think when bowler misses, he has also a lot of pressure. So I think we have learned a lot from that game. And the way Deepi dai and Gulshan executed in the last death overs, that was incredible.

"(Summarise the tournament) To summarise this tournament, I think we didn't.... We wanted to play the way we played against England and today Scotland. The game against Italy and West Indies was not to our expectation, the way we wanted to play. But eventually, if you see whole tournament, I think pretty much happy, but we wanted to qualify for the Super 8. But still, I think great learning for all of us and we'll try to improve from here."

Losing Team Captain, Richie Berrington (Scotland)

"Yeah, look, the atmosphere was incredible. I think we always knew it was going to be a tough game against Nepal, especially defending it against them, the way they were going about things. Obviously, they had a huge crowd behind them tonight as well. So yeah, look, it's obviously disappointing to be on the wrong end of that result, but a lot of credit has to go to Dipendra Singh Airee, the way he's come out and played, you know, he's changed the whole tempo of the game and, you know, fair play to him getting man of the match today.

"(Did you think the score was enough?) Yeah, I think 170 was a competitive score. I thought they bowled extremely well towards the back end of that innings. We probably did leave a few out there. But again, we knew, especially after the performance with the ball against England, if we could bring that again tonight, we knew we could maybe create some pressure and make it difficult for them. But as I said, it took one innings there just to change that game and get that result for Nepal.

"(Not playing well for the whole game) Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, obviously really pleased with some of the performances we've put in. I think we've shown once again that we can compete at this level. But there's certainly some frustration there because we've got ourselves in really strong positions in three of those games, giving ourselves.... Had we gone a bit deeper in the game and just won a few more of those key moments. I really think we could have won a few more of those games. So maybe that is just a lack of game time coming into the tournament. But there's definitely a lot that we can take forward as a team to take forward.

"(Are you happy with your showing in the tournament?) Yeah, look, I think obviously our preparation coming in was very different to some of the other teams, but, you know, I said at the very start, we embraced that as a team, and when we got here, we never sort of looked back. We just saw it as another great opportunity for us to show what we can do on the world stage. Obviously, we'd have liked a few more wins and to progress through this tournament, but certainly pleased with some of the performances that we have managed to put in.

"(How do you see things developing for the Associate nations in 20 years' time?) Yeah, look, I think we've seen once again, I think it's been great that this has been a 20-team World Cup. I think we've seen the benefits of that again, some of the performances Associate teams have put in. And again, it just goes to show if we get more exposure to this kind of cricket, I think all these teams are only going to get stronger. So I think that's definitely, definitely the key for us. But obviously at the moment, we have to keep doing everything we can to improve and just take every opportunity that's in front of us."