Despite Dipendra Singh Airee’s half-century heroics, Nepal’s efforts proved utterly futile as West Indies strolled to an effortless nine-wicket victory, booking their spot in the Super 8s. Jason Holder’s devastating four-wicket haul made short work of Nepal’s batting lineup, while the Caribbean batsmen made light work of chasing down Nepal’s modest total of 133 for 8 at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, sending the minnows packing from the tournament. West Indies Enforced Themselves To Super 8 .
TOSS-
West Indies claimed the toss and chose to bowl first.
PLAYING XI-
Nepal (Playing XI):
Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh(w), Rohit Paudel(c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Lokesh Bam, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane
West Indies (Playing XI):
Brandon King, Shai Hope(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph
NEPAL-
Asked to bat first, Nepal’s innings was a study in mediocrity from the get-go. Opening batsman Kushal Bhurtel’s stumps were rattled in the very first over, while captain Rohit Paudel managed a measly 5 before falling victim to an LBW decision. The writing was on the wall early as Nepal crumbled to a pathetic 23 for 4 by the seventh over, leaving Airee to salvage whatever dignity remained alongside the tail-enders. Matthew Forde’s relentless four-over spell epitomized Nepal’s struggles, keeping them firmly under the thumb.
Partnering with Lokesh Bam and Gulshan Jha, Airee managed to patch together two crucial stands, though the scoring rate remained painfully sluggish. Nepal occasionally took liberties against the spin bowlers, but any real urgency only surfaced during the death overs when Airee and Sompal Kami finally decided to attack the fast bowlers. The 18th over saw Kami smash three consecutive boundaries off Holder, while Airee responded by launching two massive sixes off Shamar Joseph in the following over—the first bringing up his fifty. Those three overs yielded 44 runs and provided the late surge Nepal desperately needed, but Holder had the last laugh with a masterful final over, his pinpoint yorkers claiming two more scalps to cap off the carnage.
WEST INDIES-
Basically, West Indies chased the runs easily even though the ball was holding up on the pitch, and making shots was the same simple thing for them. We are seeing Brandon King starting well with only a boundary shot through cover-point from the first ball itself. The West Indian openers played safe cricket and further managed to score at least one boundary each over, which itself showed their steady approach. Also, as per the match progress, the team started hitting freely only in the fifth over regarding their batting approach. As per the match situation, King scored twelve runs off Kami’s bowling and set up the team for an easy win.
As per the match situation, King got out in the last powerplay over after making a 44-run partnership, but regarding Nepal’s bowling, they could not put enough pressure on West Indies to take control of the game. Basically, Shimron Hetmyer handled Sandeep Lamichhane well and kept hitting boundaries, doing the same thing when he stepped out to hit a six over long on against the spinner. Hope also started hitting big shots later, and we are seeing him smash two sixes off Lamichhane in the 15th over to complete his fifty runs only.
Brief Scores:
Basically, Nepal scored 133 runs in 20 overs with Dipendra Singh Airee making 58, but West Indies chased the same target easily in just 15.2 overs with Shai Hope scoring 61 and won by 9 wickets.
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