Scotland and Nepal have played 11 ODIs and 3 T20Is since July 2022, with the head-to-head locked at near-parity. Nepal leads the overall ODI count 5–5 (one match abandoned), while Scotland has taken key momentum in 2025–26 within the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2.
Two associate cricket nations. Separated by mountains, oceans, and playing conditions. Yet every time Scotland and Nepal meet on a cricket field, the margin between them is razor-thin — often two wickets, sometimes just two runs.
This is not a rivalry between giants. But it might be the most compelling contest in associate cricket right now.
The Origins: How Scotland National Cricket Team vs Nepal National Cricket Team timeline Rivalry Began
Scotland and Nepal occupy a unique space in world cricket. Neither has full Test status. Both are fighting for the same prize — a pathway to the ODI World Cup — through the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2.
That shared ambition is what makes their meetings matter. This is not a friendly series. Every game has direct consequences on the World Cup qualification ladder.
Their ODI rivalry officially began in July 2022 in Glasgow — and from the very first match, neither team could dominate the other cleanly.
Match-by-Match Timeline: Every Scotland vs Nepal Contest
Glasgow, July 2022 — The Series That Set the Tone
The Scotland National Cricket Team vs Nepal national cricket team timeline opened at Grange Cricket Club, Glasgow, in July 2022 during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2.
Match 1 — July 13, 2022 (Glasgow): Nepal won by 5 wickets. Scotland, playing at home, were beaten inside a chase with 149 balls to spare. Nepal looked sharp, their batters clinical.
Match 2 — July 17, 2022 (Glasgow): Scotland responded with controlled authority — winning by 8 wickets with 186 balls remaining. Scotland’s seamers exploited familiar conditions. Nepal collapsed, and Scotland levelled the series.
What people think: “Scotland dominated at home.” The reality? They only managed a 1-1 split, even with home advantage. Nepal had already shown they belonged at this level.
Windhoek, December 2022 — Scotland Take Control on Neutral Ground
With the venue shifted to Windhoek, Namibia, Scotland had a chance to prove its superiority away from Scottish pitches.
Match 3 — December 4, 2022 (Windhoek): Scotland won by 3 wickets with 107 balls remaining. A composed chase, no panic.
Match 4 — December 8, 2022 (Windhoek): Scotland won again — this time by 8 wickets with 198 balls remaining. One of their most dominant performances against Nepal.
Two back-to-back wins at neutral venues suggested Scotland had the tactical maturity to handle pressure away from home. At this point, Scotland led the rivalry 3-1 in ODIs.
Kirtipur, February 2023 — Nepal’s Home Fortress
What happened next changed the character of this rivalry entirely.
Nepal hosted Scotland at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur — arguably the most challenging conditions Scotland had faced in this series.
Match 5 — February 17, 2023 (Kirtipur): Nepal won by 3 wickets with 18 balls remaining. Player of the Match: Dipendra Singh Airee. The surface played tricks, the crowd was electric, and Nepal’s lower-order held its nerve.
Match 6 — February 21, 2023 (Kirtipur): Nepal won again — by 2 wickets with 35 balls remaining.
Two home wins. The rivalry was now 3-3 in ODIs. Perfectly balanced.
This is where most analysts missed the real story: Nepal wasn’t just winning at home because of familiar conditions. They were winning because Sandeep Lamichhane and the spin attack created a web that Scotland’s batters had never encountered in series cricket before.
Dallas, October – November 2024 — Rain, Drama, and Points at Stake
The rivalry resumed in Dallas, Texas, in late October 2024, with the League 2 standings extremely tight.
Match 7 — October 29, 2024 (Dallas): Nepal won by 5 wickets. Scotland posted 154 in 41.4 overs. Nepal chased it down in 29.5 overs, with Aarif Sheikh (51 off 42 balls) anchoring a clinical chase.
Match 8 — November 4, 2024 (Dallas/Texas): Match abandoned — no result due to rain.
The abandoned game was a significant moment in the points table context. Scotland missed what could have been a crucial win (or loss) that would have reshaped the League 2 standings. One rain-affected match had the potential to decide qualification fates.
Dundee, June 2025 — The Highest-Scoring Series in Their Rivalry
If the earlier chapters were about control and tactics, the Dundee series in June 2025 was pure batting spectacle — and delivered the most dramatic finish in their entire head-to-head history.
Match 9 — June 2, 2025 (Dundee): Scotland posted 296/7 in 49.5 overs. Nepal chased 297, winning by 1 wicket off the very last ball.
Think about that. 297 was defended to the last over, and Nepal still got there with one wicket in hand. Karan KC was the standout with 65 off 41 balls.
Match 10 — June 8, 2025 (Dundee): Scotland’s highest-ever total against Nepal — 323/6. Richie Berrington scored 102 off 114 balls, one of the finest associate cricket innings under pressure. Nepal responded with 321 all out in 50 overs — one of the highest ODI totals ever by an associate team. Scotland won by just 2 runs.
This was not cricket — it was theater. 644 runs in a match, separated by 2 runs. Both teams scored over 300, and the result came down to the final over.
What most people miss is this: Berrington’s century wasn’t just a personal milestone. It was a captain’s innings under enormous series pressure, with Nepal needing a win to improve their League 2 standing. Scotland knew what was at stake and delivered a masterclass.
T20I Chapter: The Glasgow and Wankhede Encounters
Beyond ODIs, Scotland and Nepal have met in three T20Is, all since June 2025.
T20I 1 — June 17, 2025 (Glasgow): Scotland were bowled out for 97. Nepal chased it down — winning by 2 wickets with Nepal’s lower order scraping through.
T20I 2 — June 20, 2025 (Glasgow): Scotland rebounded sharply. They posted 193/5 and dismissed Nepal for 159, winning by 34 runs.
T20I 3 — February 17, 2026 (Wankhede, T20 World Cup 2026): The biggest stage yet. Scotland posted 170/7. Nepal chased it down with 7 wickets to spare. Nepal won the World Cup 2026 group-stage contest at Wankhede comprehensively.
The T20I record reads: Nepal 2, Scotland 1. But the margin of Scotland’s win (34 runs) was far more convincing than either of Nepal’s wins in the format.
Kirtipur, May 2026 — Latest Chapter, Same Story
The rivalry returned to Nepal’s home turf in May 2026, as part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2.
Match 11 — May 12, 2026 (Kirtipur): A rain-affected match. Scotland posted 243/8 in 50 overs (George Munsey 75 off 62, Finlay McCreath 35). Nepal were set a revised DLS target and finished at 218/7 in 39 overs. Scotland won by 2 runs — DLS method.
Dipendra Singh Airee top-scored for Nepal with 55 off 49 balls. But it was Brad Currie’s 3/43 and Mark Watt’s disciplined 2/37 that kept Nepal in check during a critical phase.
Match 12 — May 18, 2026 (Kirtipur): Scheduled but yet to be played at the time of publication.
Head-to-Head Stats Table
| Format | Matches | Scotland Wins | Nepal Wins | No Result |
| ODI | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| T20I | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
Key Turning Points in the Rivalry
1. Kirtipur 2023 — Nepal Found Its Fortress
Before 2023, Scotland had a 3-1 ODI lead. The home series in Kirtipur flipped the equation completely. The spin-friendly surface, the altitude, and Nepal’s reading of conditions created a template for home dominance that still holds in 2026.
2. Dundee 2025 — The 644-Run Match
The June 8, 2025, fixture was a watershed moment for associate cricket globally. Two associate teams scoring 300+ in the same ODI is rare. It showed both teams had crossed a significant batting threshold.
3. T20 World Cup 2026, Wankhede — Nepal’s Statement
The World Cup stage elevated this rivalry. Nepal’s 7-wicket win at Wankhede sent a clear message: on neutral flat tracks, Nepal can outbat Scotland in the powerplay phase.
Player Profiles: The Rivalry’s Key Performers
Richie Berrington (Scotland): The captain who leads from the front. His 102 off 114 balls in Dundee remains the standout individual performance in this rivalry.
Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal): The middle-order finisher. Won the Player of the Match in Kirtipur 2023. Scored 55 in the rain-affected game at Kirtipur in May 2026. Consistently delivers when Nepal needs 40 off 30 balls.
Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal): Took 4/41 in the May 2026 match at Kirtipur. In conditions that suit him, he remains unplayable for most associate batters.
Karan KC (Nepal): His 65 off 41 balls in Dundee 2025 accelerated Nepal’s chase in the final overs of one of the most dramatic games in associate ODI history.
George Munsey (Scotland): His 75 off 62 in Kirtipur 2026 showed that Scotland’s openers can play attacking cricket even in subcontinental conditions.
What the Points Table Tells You
In the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 standings, the gap between Scotland National Cricket Team vs Nepal national cricket team timeline is stark.
As of May 2026:
- Scotland: 13 wins from 24 matches, 30 points, NRR +0.93
- Nepal: 5 wins from 20 matches, 12 points, NRR -0.29
This means Scotland’s qualification trajectory for the ODI World Cup remains on track. Nepal’s League 2 campaign has been inconsistent — strong against each other but struggling against the USA, the Netherlands, and Canada in recent cycles.
But here is the counterintuitive observation: Nepal is far more competitive against Scotland specifically than its overall points tally suggests. Their head-to-head record (5-5 ODI, 2-1 T20I) tells a completely different story from Nepal’s broader tournament standing. Scotland simply cannot take Nepal lightly in any format.
Upcoming Fixture: May 18, 2026 (Kirtipur)
Match 107 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 is scheduled for May 18, 2026, at Kirtipur.
Nepal will be looking to immediately avenge the 2-run DLS defeat from May 12. Scotland, fresh off a tense win, will need to handle the psychological weight of a hostile crowd and a pitch that increasingly favors spin as the game progresses.
Given that four of the last five matches in this rivalry have been decided by margins of 5 wickets or fewer, expect another tight contest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the head-to-head record between Scotland and Nepal in ODIs?
As of May 2026, Scotland and Nepal have played 11 ODIs. Scotland has won 5, Nepal has won 5, and one match was abandoned without a result.
Q2. When did Scotland and Nepal first play an ODI against each other?
Their first ODI was played on July 13, 2022, at Glasgow. Nepal won that match by 5 wickets.
Q3. What was the highest-scoring ODI between Scotland and Nepal?
The match at Dundee on June 8, 2025, produced the highest-scoring game between the two sides. Scotland scored 323/6 (Richie Berrington 102), and Nepal replied with 321 all out. Scotland won by 2 runs.
Q4. What happened in the T20 World Cup 2026 match between Scotland and Nepal?
Nepal beat Scotland by 7 wickets at Wankhede on February 17, 2026, in Group C of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Scotland posted 170/7, and Nepal chased it comfortably.
Q5. Who leads the T20I head-to-head between Scotland and Nepal?
Nepal leads the T20I head-to-head 2-1. Nepal won on June 17, 2025 (by 2 wickets) and on February 17, 2026 (by 7 wickets). Scotland’s only T20I win came on June 20, 2025, by 34 runs.
Q6. Where do Scotland and Nepal rank in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 in 2026?
As of May 2026, Scotland is second on the points table with 30 points from 24 matches. Nepal is sixth with 12 points from 20 matches.
Q7. Has Nepal ever beaten Scotland in Windhoek?
No. Both ODIs played in Windhoek in December 2022 were won by Scotland — by 3 wickets and 8 wickets, respectively.
Q8. Who has scored the highest individual score in a Scotland vs Nepal ODI?
Richie Berrington’s 102 off 114 balls at Dundee on June 8, 2025, is the highest individual innings in any Scotland vs Nepal ODI.
Q9. What was the result of the May 12, 2026, ODI between Scotland and Nepal?
Scotland won by 2 runs under the DLS method in a rain-affected match at Kirtipur. Scotland scored 243/8 in 50 overs. Nepal fell short at 218/7 off 39 overs.
Q10. Is Scotland vs Nepal a rivalry that matters for World Cup qualification?
Yes. Both teams compete in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, where results directly determine ODI World Cup qualification slots. Every head-to-head result between them carries genuine tournament weight.
