Follow UsIt felt like time had turned back in the contest between Scotland and Nepal in Dundee, Scotland, when hundreds of Nepalese fans thronged the ground after Nepal won a thriller against the home side by just one wicket.
Chasing 297 in 50 overs in a game that was part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, Nepal started off well with opener Kushal Bhurtel scoring 53 off just 44 deliveries. However, the wickets kept falling at a regular interval, and as a result, Nepal were eight down before the last over, where they needed seven runs to win the game.
Shrewd left-arm spinner Mark Watt got Sandeep Lamichhane caught out on the first ball of the last over, which left Karan KC and Rijan Dhakal to score seven of the five remaining deliveries. Taking singles and doubles, Karan, who was the hero of the game for Nepal, had ensured that only one run was needed off the last delivery.
When hope was fading, Karan KC delivered! 🇳🇵🔥
— ICC Asia Cricket (@ICCAsiaCricket) June 3, 2025
A match-winning 65* off 41 balls (4 sixes, 3 fours) and 2 wickets — a true fighter's performance. Led Nepal to a thrilling 1-wicket victory against Scotland.🔥
Take a bow, Karan ! 🫡🙌 pic.twitter.com/DGAOP9SDk2
In what was a dramatic turn of events, the last delivery was a wide down the leg side, which wasn’t collected cleanly by wicketkeeper Matthew Cross. Karan, who was on strike, scurried for a run, and it took a desperate dive from Dhakal to complete the run.
By then, the keeper had already broken the stumps, and the Scottish players thought they had won the game. However, they had missed the signal from the umpire, who had called it a wide. Karan saw it signal, though and raised his bat in celebration, knowing that Nepal, and not Scotland, had won the game.
As soon as that happened, the crowd jumped over the boundary and invaded the pitch, as the Nepalese players also ran in to celebrate. Soon, Karan was lifted on shoulders and given the treatment of a hero.
There is so much going on in this photo, it is close to impossible to explain the emotion of every player.
— Andrew Leonard (@CricketBadge) June 3, 2025
An ending that defied all description. Maybe the most dramatic finish to any one of the near 5,000 ODIs that there's ever been.
We are lucky to have Associate Cricket. pic.twitter.com/pmmQjIDnkg
So dramatic was the last ball that even Andrew Leonard, who was on commentary, said on air, “…It was all confusion. I don’t think I even know what happened.”
It was Nepal’s highest successful ODI chase in their history.
Brief Scores: Nepal 297/9 (Karan 65*, Bhurtel 53, Jha 42; McMullen 3-47, Leask 2-40) beat Scotland 296/7 (Tear 80, McCreath 55, Karan 2-43, Kami 2-66) by one wicket