There is a school of thought amonst many in mainstream cricket circles that the ODI is a dead format. The lame duck between the tradition of Test cricket and the money-spinning T20 format.
It's obvious that nobody told Scotland and Nepal that, as they played out another thrilling ODI today in Dundee with Scotland winning by two runs in a high scoring contest that went down to the last ball.
Things didn't start well for the home side, who were batting first after winning the toss, as George Munsey was removed in the second over witihout scoring. Brandon McMullen was also out cheaply soon afterwards, before Charlie Tear and Richie Berrington added 94 for the third wicket.
That partnership ended when Tear was out for 68. Finlay McCreath and Matthew Cross didn't add much to the total but a 125 run partnership for the sixth wicket between Berrington and Michael Leask helped Scotland move towards a big total.
Berrington was the sxith man out for 102 whilst Leask finished the innings unbeaten on 96 from 62 balls out of Scotland's total of 323-6.
Nepal lost both openers cheaply, but kept up with the rate thanks to notable contributions from Bhim Sharki (73), Aarif Sheikh (39) and Dipendra Singh Airee (56), the latter of whom shared in a 105 run partnership for the seventh wicket with Sompal Kami.
Kami was the top scorer for Nepal, taking them past 300 for only the second time in ODIs as he made 67 from 44 balls. He fell from the last ball of the 48th over with Nepal needing 16 from the last two overs. Karan KC - the hero the other day - and Sandeep Lamichhane scored nine from the penultimate over, leaving seven needed from the last, just like in the first game of this tri-series.
The winning moment as Safyaan Sharif bowls Lalit Rajbanshi (Cricket Scotland)
Safyaan Sharif was chosen to bowl the last. Two runs came from the first ball, followed by a dot before he had Karan KC caught. A bye and a run came from the next two balls, leaving Nepal requring 3 from the last ball with one wicket in hand. Sharif bowled a yorker that hit middle stump to secure the two run win for his side. Who said ODI cricket was dead?
