United States National Cricket Team Vs Nepal National Cricket Team Match Scorecard ICC CWC League 2 2026: Nepal Win by 9 Wickets

Nepal beat the United States by 9 wickets in Match 105 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 on May 16, 2026, at Kirtipur. USA scored 195 all out; Nepal chased it down in 36.4 overs with 199/1. Kushal Bhurtel struck an unbeaten 120 off 118 balls. Dipendra Singh Airee took 4/24 to dismantle the USA middle order. This Blog cover about united states national cricket team vs nepal national cricket team match scorecard. 

Quick Scorecard Summary

Detail	Information
Match	105th Match, ICC CWC League 2 2023–27
Date	May 16, 2026
Venue	Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
Toss	USA won; elected to bat
USA Score	195 all out (43.3 overs)
Nepal Score	199/1 (36.4 overs)
Result	Nepal won by 9 wickets
Player of the Match	Kushal Bhurtel (120* off 118 balls)

Nepal didn’t just beat the United States in this united states national cricket team vs nepal national cricket team match scorecard fixture. They dismantled them surgically, clinically, and in front of a Kirtipur crowd that had waited too long for a moment exactly like this.

USA Innings Scorecard: Full Batting Breakdown

USA scored 195 all out in 43.3 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat at Kirtipur.

USA Batting Performance

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Smit Patel	83	89	8	2	93.3
Shehan Jayasuriya	50	52	5	1	96.2
Other contributors	62	—	—	—	—
Total	195	261

USA Innings in 30 Seconds

• 195 all out in 43.3 overs
• Smit Patel 83 the lone top-order fighter
• Shehan Jayasuriya 50 temporary resistance in the middle
• Collapsed after Over 20 Airee’s spell changed everything
• Under-par score on a flat Kirtipur surface

Why USA’s Total Was Never Enough

USA had the tools to push beyond 220. What they lacked was the partnerships to convert individual starts into something threatening. Smit Patel’s 83 off 89 balls was a genuine quality innings aggressive at the right times, composed when needed. But here is the problem: no other batter crossed 50 with the same authority.

Shehan Jayasuriya’s 50 off 52 gave brief momentum. But once Dipendra Singh Airee entered the attack, USA’s middle order had no answers. The innings that should have finished at 225–230 was squeezed into a below-par 195 a target that Nepal’s top three were always going to handle.

Key Insight: USA’s batting lineup, ranked among the strongest in ICC League 2, managed only 62 runs from all batters outside Patel and Jayasuriya combined. That collective failure, not individual brilliance from Nepal, lost USA the match.

Nepal Bowling: The Airee Masterclass

Dipendra Singh Airee was the defining bowler of the match, taking 4 wickets for just 24 runs.

Nepal Bowling Figures

Bowler	Wickets	Runs	Economy
Dipendra Singh Airee	4	24	Excellent
Supporting bowlers	6	171	—

How Airee Dismantled USA’s Middle Order

What most post-match coverage misses is the timing of Airee’s intervention. Nepal captain Rohit Paudel didn’t throw the ball to Airee during the powerplay or at the death. He deployed him precisely when USA were looking to accelerate in the 20–35 over band the exact phase where USA planned to go from 3-down platform to 220+.

Airee’s spell killed that ambition completely.

• He removed USA’s set batters when partnerships were building
• His economy rate strangled the scoring rate through the crucial phase
• Each wicket arrived at a moment that reset USA’s momentum, not merely removed a batter

This is resource management, not luck. Nepal’s bowling strategy was tactically superior to USA’s batting response.

Reality Check: Most fans credit Bhurtel’s century for winning the match. The real architect of Nepal’s victory was Airee. Without his 4/24 spell, Nepal would have been chasing 225+, and the match story changes entirely.

Nepal Innings Scorecard: Bhurtel’s Controlled Domination

Nepal chased 196 in 36.4 overs, finishing 199/1 losing only 1 wicket in the entire chase.

Nepal Batting Figures

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR	Status
Kushal Bhurtel	120	118	13	4	101.7	Not Out
Aasif Sheikh	58	72	6	0	80.6	Out
Rohit Paudel	18*	21	2	0	85.7	Not Out
Total	199/1	220

The Powerplay Blueprint

Nepal’s chase never had a moment of doubt, and that fact alone is the clearest evidence of how completely outplayed USA were across all three departments of this united states national cricket team vs nepal national cricket team match scorecard fixture.

Innings Phase Breakdown:

Phase	Overs	Runs	Wickets
Powerplay (1–10)	10	56	0
Middle Overs (11–30)	20	103	1
Final Phase (31–36.4)	6.4	40	0

• Bhurtel reached 50 off just 45 balls
• Nepal crossed 100 in 9.1 overs a stunning powerplay execution
• The opening partnership of 120+ runs ended the contest before USA could even attempt a recovery

What People Think vs Reality

Most casual analysts will call this a “home track advantage” result and move on. That is exactly the wrong reading.

The reality: Nepal came into this match having lost four consecutive ODIs to USA in the League 2 cycle including a brutal 106-run humiliation in Dubai in October 2025. This wasn’t a routine home win. This was a team reclaiming its identity against a rival that had been psychologically dominating them for 18 months.

Bhurtel’s unbeaten 120 was precision, not power. He did not slog. He read the bowling, attacked the gaps, and only accelerated after building the platform. After his 45-ball fifty, he shifted gears, treating USA’s seamers and spinners with equal contempt. That timing is what separates a match-winning hundred from a pretty innings.

That is not a chase. That is an execution.

Match Turning Points: When the Game Changed

Turning Point 1 Airee’s Entry (Overs 20–35)

USA were in position to score 220–230 when Airee was introduced. His 4/24 spell didn’t just remove batters it wiped out USA’s final 10 overs of firepower. The difference between 195 and 225 is a completely different match. Nepal’s captain read the moment perfectly and bowled his best weapon at the exact right time.

Turning Point 2 Nepal’s Powerplay (Overs 1–10)

When Bhurtel and Sheikh scored 56 without loss in the opening 10 overs, the match was effectively over. USA’s bowlers expected nerves, early wickets, and pressure. They found none of those things. The first boundary in the first over set the psychological tone for the entire chase.

Turning Point 3 Bhurtel’s Gear Change After 50

After reaching his half-century off 45 balls, Bhurtel didn’t consolidate. He attacked. Four sixes and 13 fours in the final half of his innings turned a comfortable run chase into an emphatic, record-margin statement win.

USA vs Nepal Head-to-Head ODI Record

The USA vs Nepal cricket rivalry in ODI format has been genuinely competitive which makes this result even more significant.

Match Date	Venue	Winner	Margin
May 16, 2026	Kirtipur	Nepal	9 wickets
Nov 1, 2025	ICCA Dubai	USA	4 wickets
Oct 26, 2025	Dubai	USA	106 runs
Nov 2, 2024	Dallas	USA	37 runs
Oct 27, 2024	Dallas	USA	3 wickets
Jun 20, 2023	Harare	Nepal	6 wickets

Key Pattern: USA win away from Nepal. Nepal win at Kirtipur. This home-away split is one of the most consistent patterns in Associate cricket’s ODI landscape.

The numbers confirm it: The majority of Nepal’s ODI wins over USA have come on home soil. USA’s strength is their global adaptability they perform on neutral and home pitches with genuine consistency. But Kirtipur remains Nepal’s fortress, and no visiting Associate side regardless of league position has cracked that code reliably.

Series Context: What This Result Means for ICC CWC League 2

USA’s League 2 Position

USA entered Match 105 with:

• 18 wins from 24 matches
• 36 points league leaders
• NRR of +0.939 dominant

They didn’t need this game. They had the luxury of absorbing an occasional defeat. But Nepal needed this win the way a drowning team needs a lifeline.

Nepal’s Qualification Picture

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 (2023–27) is the direct qualification pathway to the 2027 Cricket World Cup. Every match matters. Every NRR point matters. A 9-wicket win with 80 balls remaining doesn’t just add 2 points it delivers a massive NRR boost that can, over a long competition, be the difference between qualification and elimination.

Why This Matters: Nepal’s win didn’t dent USA’s lead at the top. But it sent a message to Scotland, UAE, and every other qualifier contender: Nepal at home are a different species. Plan accordingly.

The Real Problem Nepal Still Faces

This is where things get uncomfortable for Nepal fans. A single 9-wicket win does not close a 12-point gap in a points table. USA’s consistency across 24 matches is not an accident it reflects a program that has been building systematically and performing under pressure on multiple surfaces.

Nepal needs consecutive wins, consistent NRR management, and away-game improvement to genuinely challenge for the top qualification spot. Match 106, played the following day at the same venue, was the immediate test of whether this dominant performance was the beginning of a run or a single peak.

Nepal’s Kirtipur Advantage: The Underrated Factor

Altitude. Surface. Crowd. Conditions.

Kirtipur sits at a significantly higher altitude than most international cricket venues, and the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground plays differently to every other Associate cricket surface. The ball behaves differently. The conditions favour bowlers who know the surface and batters who have trained there for years.

Visiting teams even strong ones like USA consistently underestimate the combination of:

• Surface bounce and pace variations unique to the altitude
• Nepal’s spinners exploiting local conditions far more effectively than away spinners
• The crowd factor Kirtipur crowds are among the most passionate and vocally hostile in Associate cricket
• Nepal’s training advantage they have played hundreds of sessions on this surface; visitors have a few days

USA have now lost two of three ODIs played in Kirtipur. That is not a coincidence.

Player Performance Spotlight

Kushal Bhurtel Match Winner

• 120* off 118 balls 13 fours, 4 sixes
• Strike rate of 101.7 across a high-pressure chase
• Reached 50 in 45 balls, then accelerated ruthlessly
• One of Nepal’s most important ODI innings in the League 2 cycle
• Recent form indicates he is peaking at the right time in Nepal’s qualification campaign

Dipendra Singh Airee The Real Architect

• 4 wickets for 24 runs economy rate among the best in the match
• Bowled in the critical acceleration phase (Overs 20–35)
• Removed USA’s set batters, not tail-enders
• Functions as Nepal’s all-round match-changer at the Associate level
• At his best, he is the most tactically intelligent cricketer in Nepal’s current squad

Smit Patel USA’s Lone Fighter

• 83 off 89 balls quality innings in difficult circumstances
• Could not find the support partnership needed
• USA’s most reliable ODI accumulator in this League 2 campaign

Aasif Sheikh The Anchor

• 58 off 72 balls composed, professional, exactly what the situation required
• His role was to hold one end while Bhurtel attacked the other
• Executed that role to near perfection

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Original Observations

1. Kirtipur is Associate cricket’s most underrated home fortress. Not because of pitch preparation or crowd noise alone but because Nepal’s players have spent their entire careers learning to exploit those specific conditions. The altitude variable alone makes this one of cricket’s most unique Associate grounds.

2. Dipendra Singh Airee is being consistently undervalued in ICC League 2 coverage. His role in this match was not secondary to Bhurtel it was foundational. The man who restricts the opposition to 195 when they had the platform for 225 is the man who wins the match. Airee did exactly that.3. The home-away split in this rivalry is now too consistent to ignore. USA win in America. Nepal win in Nepal. The 2027 qualification picture may ultimately be decided by which team can break the other’s home dominance first.

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