USA's Thrilling Comeback Victory Against Nepal

After a chaotic 48 hours involving a 10-wicket defeat by Scotland, the unexpected departure of their coach, and social media upheaval, the USA found relief in a thrilling last-over win against Nepal. Chasing 287, Shayan Jahangir starred with a blistering 104 off 97 balls, partnering with Monank Patel (62 off 76) in a crucial 161-run stand.

The USA seemed in control but stumbled after Kushal Bhurtel’s surprise leg-spin led to a collapse, dropping them from 179/2 to 197/6. Harmeet Singh then turned the game around with a powerful 57 off 44, building a 71-run seventh-wicket stand with Shadley Van Schalkwyk, who remained composed with an unbeaten 29 off 37. In the final moments, Shadley and Jasdeep Singh led the USA to victory, with Jasdeep hitting a crucial six off Sandeep Lamichhane and Shadley sealing the win with a final authoritative shot.

Shayan’s promotion to the top of the order paid off, as he dominated during the powerplay with seven boundaries, compensating for Monank's more cautious approach. Shayan aggressively tackled Sandeep’s leg-spin, unsettling him with two early sixes, while Monank broke his drought by adding a composed half-century before falling to Lalit Rajbanshi.

Bhurtel’s unexpected turner then stirred the game, deceiving Shayan into a catch at deep square leg and quickly dismissing two more players to put Nepal in a strong position. Nepal’s captain, Rohit Paudel, switched to off-spin, but Harmeet capitalised on the less threatening bowlers, hitting boundary after boundary, reaching his fifty in 35 balls. Despite Harmeet’s momentum, Karan KC cut his innings short after a six, but his knock had brought the USA back into contention.

Earlier, Nepal’s openers Aasif Sheikh and Anil Sah established a solid start with a 98-run stand, taking advantage of USA’s early bowling struggles. Aasif notched his 13th half-century but was dismissed soon after by Jasdeep. Nepal’s innings took off again thanks to Paudel, whose explosive final overs added 48 runs, propelling the team’s total. Though he fell short of a century, Paudel’s aggressive push ultimately wasn’t enough to secure victory for Nepal.

This intense match demonstrated both teams’ resolve and highlighted Shayan’s impactful move up the order, Harmeet’s decisive innings, and Paudel’s efforts that nearly gave Nepal the edge.