The Nepali campaign was defined by missed opportunities. Their narrow four-wicket defeat of England in pursuit of 184 was promising, but subsequent losses to Italy and the West Indies revealed deeper problems. Batting collapses have repeatedly caused bowlers to defend short totals. Kushal Bhurtel has struggled for rhythm with both bat and ball, while Sandeep Lamichhane has failed to pick up a wicket since the England game. The fact that Nepal have taken just one wicket in their last two matches underlines the extent of their bowling concerns.
Scotland, meanwhile, have shown flashes of resilience. After defeating the West Indies, they recorded an emphatic win over Italy before being swept aside by England. Their spin attack was a standout feature, thriving on Indian surfaces with 11 wickets at 24.63. With Wankhede producing an average of 2.2 degrees of spin, the conditions could once again favor their slower bowlers.
Both teams may rotate their squads, with Scotland having already replaced the injured Safyaan Sharif with Jack Jarvis. Nepal could also provide opportunities for bench players.
Emphasizing the importance of positivity, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said, “If you keep listening to outside noise, it will be difficult for all the players to perform in the next match. So we keep it out and when the team is losing, it is very important to keep everyone very positive and we are trying to do that.”
Scotland’s Tom Bruce added: “Yeah, look, we played in front of 50,000 in the last game against England. And they supported us. So I think now we can expect probably less people, more noise, but supporting Nepal. So I think it’s the best of both worlds for the lads to experience that.”