Nepal vs West Indies: Oh, what a day at the Wankhede Stadium! Nepal showed a fighting spirit but the West Indies were just too smooth to handle.
In a Group C clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Sunday, the Caribbean side chased down Nepal’s 133/8 with ease, winning by 9 wickets and booking their place in the Super Eights. Meanwhile, Nepal’s dreams came crashing down ending their T20 WC campaign for this year.
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Nepal’s late fight falls short
Nepal started shakily. But Dipendra Singh Airee and Sompal Kami staged a late fightback. Airee, playing like a man possessed, smashed 58 runs and became only the second Nepali batter ever to score a fifty in T20 World Cup history. The first was Subash Khakurel, who scored 56 against Afghanistan in Chattogram back in 2014.
Together Airee and Kami stitched a 54-run partnership for the seventh wicket, a rare feat for an Associate team at this level.
In fact, it was only the fourth time a T20 WC pair from an Associate nation added 54-70 runs for the seventh wicket or lower. Despite this, Nepal couldn’t push past 133, giving West Indies a target that was well within reach.
West Indies make it look easy
Chasing 134, West Indies wasted no time. The openers set the tone, but it was captain Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer who stole the show. Hope scored an unbeaten 61*, becoming only the second Caribbean captain to hit a fifty in T20 World Cup history after the legendary Chris Gayle (who had fifties against India, Australia, and Sri Lanka in earlier editions).
Hope and Hetmyer put together a scintillating 91-run unbeaten partnership for the second wicket marking the third time in T20 WC history a Caribbean pair added 91 or more runs for that wicket. Their dominance ensured that West Indies wrapped up chase in just 15.2 overs.
With this victory, West Indies march into the Super Eights. And Nepal? They bow out of the tournament.