And yet, both will go into their meeting in Mumbai wondering what could have been. Nepal were 11 runs from 8 balls away from victory in their opening against England, while Scotland spurned 30 runs in their innings against the same opponents, which might have afforded them more room to cash in the nerves they elicited in an ultimately unsuccessful defense of 152.

A comprehensive defeat to West Indies on Sunday closed all mathematical avenues for Nepal’s progression, before England’s second number on their Auld enemy was to come through another sketchy situation against Italy on Monday to secure their own Super Eights spot. And so, what might have been a genuine winner-takes-all bout is anything but. Regardless of the result, both teams will be heading home.

Of course, there is pride to play for, but perhaps a bit more on Nepal’s side of the ledger. Captain Rohit Paudel called for more opportunities against Full Member teams going forward, after making England sweat. Signing off with a maiden T20 World Cup win can further their push for more of a look-in. Their fans have made a compelling case in the stands.

The mullering at the hands of Italy felt like a blow to that cause, even though that should not be the case. It is counter-productive to pit Associate nations against one another to deem who is worthy of a bigger slice of pie, be that funding or opportunities against major sides, particularly when the deck is stacked against them on those grounds in the first place.

These are issues Scotland know plenty about, even if their surprise entry into this tournament is their sixth visit to a T20 World Cup. Between the 2024 T20 World Cup and this one, they had played just seven T20Is outside of qualification tournaments, and only three against a Full Member (a series against Australia in September 2024). They themselves have a statement to make on Tuesday.

Scotland’s initial three-match residence in Kolkata featured a 73-run win against Italy, as they became the first side at this World Cup to breach 200. That was sandwiched by losses to West Indies and England, though the latter did play out in front of a crowd of more than 40,000. This will be similarly well-attended.

One of these teams will take the lead after a 1-1 head-to-head established during a tri-series Scotland hosted and won last summer, with an emphatic win over Nepal. Their first meeting three days earlier was a low scoring shootout which Sandeep Lamichanne seized; the legspinner taking 4 for 11 then bagging the winning run off the penultimate delivery.

As such, there is plenty of familiarity on the ground for this encounter, which will been played out on what has been a game Wankhede track. Nepal’s three matches at this venue to Scotland’s none gives them a sizable advantage, but their batting has not come close to replicating the heights Kushal Bhurtel, Dipendra Singh Airee and Lokesh Bam threatened to take them to against England over a week ago.

They were tentative against Italy (who chased down 124 without loss and with ease) and overawed by Group C leaders West Indies. It spoke to the standards expected that consultant coach Nic Pothas used his pre-match press conference to lament the team for “not learning fast” and making familiar errors.

Scotland, too, have errors to learn from, particularly their leg-side missteps against England when it came to the sweep shot. “The nature of the wicket [at the Wankhede] probably looks even slower than Kolkata and might take more turn,” Tom Bruce said on Monday. We shall see.

It has been a peculiar tournament for Sandeep Lamichane. Nepal’s greatest cricketing export has just one wicket at an average of 94.00, with an economy rate of 9.4 – galling numbers for a seasoned wristspinner. The 25-year-old has shown no verve, and was bullied by Anthony Mosca in the defeat to Italy, with the opener carting him for three sixes, finishing with 28 off the 13 deliveries he faced from the leggie. As mentioned further up, Lamichanne has good recent form against Scotland which he could do with replicating to save what has otherwise been an abject tournament.

Mark Watt, meanwhile, will be keen to bounce back from the shellacking he received against England. His 0 for 43 from three overs contributed to Scotland’s inability to fully turn the screw against their neighbours to the south, hammered over the fence three times by Tom Banton in a first over that went for 22 – an exchange that got Banton out of a funk and on his way to a match-winning 63*. Watt is a canny enough operator to not let that aberration dull his shine.

Nepal have been relatively consistent with their selections, sticking by 10 players and shuffling between Sher Malla (offbreak), Lalit Rajbanshi (left arm orthodox) and Sompal Kami (medium-pace) for the final spot. The suggestion on the ground is they may go in unchanged from the West Indies match after Kami provided some handy but ultimately moot lower-order runs with an unbeaten 26. Should they err towards spin, Malla may get the nod over Rajbanshi, whose single over against Italy went for 19.

Nepal (probable):  Aasif Sheikh (wk),  Kushal Bhurtel,  Rohit Paudel (capt),  Dipendra Airee,  Aarif Sheikh,  Lokesh Bam,  Gulsan Jha,  Karan KC, Sompal Kami/Sher Malla,  Nandan Yadav,  Sandeep Lamichhane.

Scotland have called up seamer Jack Jarvis as a replacement for Safyaan Sharif, who has been nursing a groin strain picked up in training. But the sense is they will go in with the same XI they played against England.

Scotland (probable): George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen,  Richie Berrington (capt),  Tom Bruce, Michael Leask,  Matthew Cross (wk),  Mark Watt,  Oliver Davidson,  Brad Wheal,  Brad Currie.

[Cricinfo]

But that might be getting ahead of ourselves. Zimbabwe simply need to win against Ireland to end all speculation, and considering they’re coming off a stunning 23-run victory over Australia, it would take a brave person to back against them.

Captain Sikandar Raza is also not one to allow his team to let their guard down. He has emphasised the need to maintain focus, warning that earlier performances will “count for nothing if the team slips up now.