Scotland’s Maisie Maceira etched her name into the history books with a remarkable five-wicket haul against Nepal.

This feat not only marked the first five-wicket performance of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 but also secured Scotland’s maiden group stage victory in the tournament’s two editions.

After a defeat to Australia, Scotland was on the brink of another narrow loss to Nepal. However, Maceira’s bowling heroics, coupled with composed batting from Pippa Sproul and Gabrielle Fontenla, turned the tide in their favor.

Maceira’s impressive figures of five for 15 were instrumental in dismissing Nepal for a modest 73, as the right-arm seamer skillfully employed her variations to devastating effect.

“It is unreal, I never thought it would happen but having everyone back me was incredible so I really just had to be here with the team,” the 19-year-old said.

Maceira explained her strategy, saying, “I have got a few variations; today I only used some cutters and back-of-the-hand balls. I have been using them in training sessions and thought I would incorporate them in my bowling, and it worked pretty well.”

She added, “We realized that slower balls were working quite a bit, so as well as spin, I thought I would bring on some slower balls to try and trick them a little bit.”

Despite Nepal’s efforts to stifle Scotland’s progress with increasing dot balls and wickets, Pippa Sproul’s patient innings of 35 from 47 deliveries put Scotland in a strong position. However, Maceira’s dismissal for two left Scotland needing 16 runs with only one wicket remaining.

Gabrielle Fontenla and Kirsty McColl displayed nerves of steel, guiding Scotland to victory with eight balls to spare.

“It was insane, we back each other, even though they only need one wicket we have great batters at the end of the order,” Maceira commented.

She continued, “It is a team game, so for me as much as I am proud of myself, I am proud of the team. We have come a long way; we tried our hardest against Australia two days ago but didn’t come out on top, but we definitely tried really hard.”

“Today you can see our efforts, and in the dugout, it was unbelievable emotions, but to be able to run out on the pitch and celebrate with the team was incredible,” she added.

Maceira concluded, “Back in the dugout, we were just trying to reassure each other that there was just one run needed off each ball. There wasn’t much that we needed, so we didn’t want to go out there and smack it; we wanted to stay cool and calm, and I think we did that.”

Scotland will conclude the group stages with a match against Bangladesh, who have one win and one loss so far. A victory on Wednesday would secure Scotland’s place in the Super Six for the first time, but a loss could still suffice if table-toppers Australia defeat Nepal.