"This means a lot": Rohit Paudel after Nepal clinch maiden T20 World Cup win

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 17 (ANI): Nepal captain Rohit Paudel lauded Dipendra Singh Airee for his match-winning performance as the Rhinos secured their first victory in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, defeating Scotland by seven wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
During the post-match presentation, Paudel highlighted the significance of the win, which came in Nepal's final league-stage game, saying it was crucial for team morale and confidence.
"This means a lot to me, my second World Cup as captain, and winning the first game in the last game of the league stage was very important to us as a team. Dipendra led the way. After our game against England, they started booking tickets and supported us to the last game. Dipendra deserves Man of the Match, he has great talent," Paudel said.
Reflecting on the team's overall performance in the tournament, Paudel said Nepal learned from earlier matches and maintained composure throughout the contest against Scotland.
"We kept our nerves calm, bowlers and batters. We learned a lot from the England game. To summarise this tournament, we wanted to play the way we did against England and Scotland. Italy was not the way we wanted to play. We will try to improve from here," he added.
After winning the Player of the Match award for his match-winning innings, Dipendra Singh Airee said, "Thanks to the fans, in the last World Cup we didn't win a single match so very important for us. One of the best innings. England match was learning experience, this is good for us."
Scotland captain Richie Berrington praised Airee for turning the game in Nepal's favour.
"The atmosphere was incredible, always knew it would be a tough game against Nepal, with the crowd behind them. But full credit to Airee, he's changed the momentum of the game. 170 was competitive, they bowled extremely well but we left a few out there. Took one innings to change the game and get the result for Nepal," Berrington said.
"We could have won a few more, but a lot to take forward as a team. Our preparation was very different to other teams but we embraced that. Would have liked a few more wins but pleased with some of the performances. It's been great that this has been a 20-team World Cup, shows more exposure and all these teams will only get stronger. Got to take every opportunity in front of us," Berrington added.
Coming to the match, Scotland started their innings on a strong note. They raced away to 52/0 in the powerplay.
However, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel broke the 80-run stand between Michael Jones and George Munsey after he removed Munsey for 27 off 29 balls, with four boundaries during the last ball of the 10th over.
Scotland kept up the scoring rate, piling 131/1 in 15 overs. Michael Jones kept Scotland on the offensive for the most part with a standout innings of 71 off 45 balls, with the help of eight fours and three sixes.
However, things changed pretty quickly for Scotland, after experienced Sompal Kami brought Nepal back into the contest with two wickets in the 16th over.
After he castled Jones, Kami took a brilliant return catch to remove Brandon McMullen (25) as Scotland slumped to 133/3.In the last five overs, Scotland scored 39 runs and somehow reached 170/7. For Nepal, Kami finished with 3/25 in his four overs.
Chasing 171, Nepal's openers began their chase on a superb note. Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh amassed 56 runs in the first six overs to ease their side into the chase.
Michael Leask broke the opening partnership between Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh to bring Scotland back into the game. The opening duo added 74 runs off 9.1 overs before Leask managed to induce a miscued shot off Bhurtel (43).
Dipendra Singh Airee (50* off 24 balls, with four boundaries and three fours) and Gulsan Jha (24* off 17 balls, with one four and two sixes) stitched a match-winning 73-run stand for the fourth wicket to help Nepal chase down the target in 19.2 overs. (ANI)