Saurabh Netravalkar showed why he's USA's all-time leading wicket-taker with another sensational new-ball performance that ended with three top-order wickets to set up an easy six-wicket win over Scotland. 

Photo credit: ICC

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
A vintage new-ball spell from former captain Saurabh Netravalkar left Scotland’s batting order in tatters and made a mockery of Scotland’s decision to bat first at the toss as USA romped their way to a six-wicket win at TU Stadium in Kathmandu on Wednesday. The result puts USA in the driver’s seat to win the three-year-long ICC Cricket World Cup League Two competition as USA moved level with Scotland on 38 points at the top of the table, though USA still has nine matches remaining to complete in the tournament compared to just four left for Scotland. 
 
USA made one change from their lineup in their previous loss to Nepal, bringing in pace bowler Rushil Ugarkar in place of legspinner Mohammad Mohsin while Sai Mukkamalla continued to serve as stand-in captain with Monank Patel remaining out of the lineup with what the team has characterized as an unspecified injury. Ugarkar’s appearance in the XI for his first ODI of the tour proved to be justified as the 22-year-old took four wickets to bookend Netravalkar’s Player of the Match performance. 
 
Ugarkar struck USA’s first blow in the field with just his second legal delivery of the day in the second over as Finlay McCreath played around a full inswinger and was given lbw for 4 to make it 10 for 1. Ugarkar arguably could have had another wicket three balls later when new batter Brandon McMullen flashed at a rising delivery outside off stump and sent a thick edge that split wicketkeeper Smit Patel and Milind Kumar fielding at a very wide slip to go to the third man rope for four runs. However, there was nothing unlucky about the way McMullen and Munsey attacked Ugarkar’s next two overs as he conceded a further three boundaries to the pair followed by a six to Munsey in the sixth over that took the score to 37 for 1.  
 
But Netravalkar turned things around for USA almost as quickly with a wicket in the seventh, anticipating a charge down the pitch from Munsey to pull the length back and induce an edge behind for 19 to make it 38 for 2 in the seventh. Netravalkar then produced a wicket maiden in the ninth with an assist from Nosthush Kenjige. After four dots to start the over to Scotland captain Richie Berrington, the right-hander tried to tap and run in front of point only for Kenjige to swoop in and fire a throw at the non-striker’s stumps to send McMullen back and deny a single. One ball later, Netravalkar had Berrington edging behind on a length delivery slanted across from over the wicket for an eight-ball duck to make it 46 for 3. Netravalkar struck for the third over in a row in the 11^th when he had Michael English also out for an eight-ball duck driving at a full delivery to send a low catch to Kumar diving to his left at slip to make it 48 for 4. 
 
Netravalkar couldn’t make it four wickets in four overs as McMullen ended his new-ball spell by driving him for six over long-on. But Shubham Ranjane struck in his first over after replacing Netravalkar in the attack just after drinks, getting McMullen for 32 prodding down the wrong line for a straightforward lbw decision to make it 61 for 5 in the 15^th. 
 
Matthew Cross was joined by Mark Watt and the pair tried to grind away to keep Scotland in the match. They managed to add 42 for the sixth-wicket, with the only two boundaries in that stretch coming courtesy of a pair of deliveries straying down the leg side flicked by Watt through fine leg for four off of Kumar and Ranjane in back-to-back overs in the 22^nd and 23^rd. Otherwise, USA’s bowlers kept the pair mostly in check with dots and the occasional single until Cross finally succumbed to Harmeet Singh for 20, slicing a thick edged drive to Shayan Jahangir at backward point to make it 103 for 6 at the second drinks break in the 30^th over. 
 
Ugarkar had been reintroduced into the attack in the over before drinks and after having conceded 37 runs off his initial four overs with the new ball, he was far more precise in his comeback spell. He won a very generous lbw decision in the 31^st off Michael Leask to make it 106 for 7, winning an appeal for 2 after Leask shuffled down the wicket and missed a flick on a ball that appeared to be heading past leg stump. After a brief counter-attack by Scotland against Harmeet in which he was hit for a four and six, Ugarkar struck again in the 35^thwhen Jack Jarvis was out in front of a flick to the leg side and produced a leading edge to Kumar at cover for 9 to make it 122 for 8. 
 
Watt did his best at the opposite end to maintain respectability for Scotland. He slog swept Kumar for six in the 36^th to move into the 40s before a single off Kumar’s next over took him to a second career ODI half-century off 71 balls. Another six off Kumar in the 40^th over send him out of the attack while Shehan Jayasuriya fared no better upon replacing Kumar as he was also hit for six in the 42^nd. But the 44-run ninth-wicket partnership came to an end upon Ranjane’s reintroduction to the attack as a full delivery was skied by Olly Davidson to Jayasuriya at mid-on for 9 to make it 166 for 9. Ugarkar quickly iced the innings in the following over as Watt charged him but only managed to sky a drive over cover in the ring for 66 as a basic catch was held by Ranjane to dismiss Scotland for 169 in 43.3 overs. 
 
Ugarkar finished with 4 for 48 off 8.3 overs having started the day with 1 for 37 off four. Netravalkar conceded just three runs off two overs in his final spell to end with 3 for 19 off nine. Ranjane ended with 2 for 21 off seven. Harmeet took 1 for 29 off six while Kenjige went wicketless but contributed by building early pressure with 0 for 9 off four overs. Kumar conceded 0 for 32 off eight while Jayasuriya gave away 10 runs off his only over. 
 
Scotland had a chance to make a dent in USA’s pursuit on the very first ball of the reply as Smit Patel’s very good fortune on tour continued when he drove a thigh high chance to Davidson in the covers off the bowling of McMullen, but Davidson shelled the chance lunging to his left. Smit rubbed salt into the wound in McMullen’s next over, hitting three fours to get the USA chase in gear. Smit offered another chance off McMullen in the seventh over on 17 when a skied drive swirled above McCreath at mid-on, but the fielder shuffled his feet the whole way and was never settled before juggling the chance while falling backward onto the advertising mats behind the bowler as the ball eventually hit the ground. 
 
At the other end, Jahangir drove McMullen for six to take USA to 40 for 0 after seven, then pulled Safyaan Sharif for six over square leg in the 10^th to bring up the fifty partnership. He continued with another pair of boundaries flicked through square leg and slashed over third man in a 15-run over off Sharif that took USA to 60 for 0 at the end of the Powerplay. The opening stand ended in the following over for 62 when Jahangir was foxed by a quicker delivery from left-arm spinner Davidson that beat his attempt to jam it out and wound up bowling him for 37.
 
Meanwhile, Sharif looked less than his best on the day as Smit pulled him for six in the 14^th to hit him out of the attack having conceded 0 for 30 off three overs. Smit’s luck finally ran out in the 16^th as an attempted cut off Leask was juggled and eventually held by Cross behind the stumps for 37 to make it 88 for 2 in the 16^th. Jayasuriya looked untroubled to reach 19 off 20 balls before he was runout in the 21^st over when Mukkamalla was guilty of ball-watching on what should have been a clear single wide of Munsey at midwicket. When Mukkamalla froze a few steps down the wicket at the non-striker’s end, it meant Jayasuriya was stranded and a relay from Munsey to Cross beat Jayasuriya’s desperate attempt to get back in as the score turned to 106 for 3.
 
But Mukkamalla atoned by forging a 51-run partnership with Kumar to reestablish control of the chase for USA. Mukkamalla drove Watt’s left-arm spin for six over long-on in the 23^rd before doing the same to Davidson in the 26^th. After a single put Kumar on strike, he bashed a flat six into the sightscreen before driving a four over mid-on and ended a 21-run over with a cut behind point for another four. The stand ended in the following over when Mukkamalla chased what would have been called a wide had he left it alone only for a toe edge to go behind for a wicket to Jack Jarvis for 35 at 157 for 4. 
 
Ranjane pulverized his first delivery at the crease off Jarvis over extra cover for four and the match only lasted another five legal deliveries. Ranjane began the 28^th by shuffling across his stumps to flick Leask over the leg side for four to level the scores before a leg side wide confirmed victory for USA. Ranjane ended with 11 not out off six balls while Kumar ended unbeaten on 24 off 16. 
 
Jarvis ended with Scotland’s best statistical bowling figures, taking 1 for 17 off two overs. Leask claimed 1 for 20 off 4.1 overs while Davidson bowled well for the majority of his spell before his final over that went for 21 runs spoiled his figures to end with 1 for 51 off eight. Watt ended with 0 for 26 off seven while McMullen didn’t return after the Powerplay and ended with 0 for 22 off three. 
 
USA returns to action on Friday when they play Nepal in the final match of the tri-series at TU Stadium.