DUBAI – West Indies cricket was left reeling on Saturday after struggling a humbling 19-run defeat to rank outsiders Nepal within the opening T20 Worldwide of the Unity Cup on the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
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Tasked with chasing a modest 149 for victory, the Caribbean aspect as soon as once more noticed their batting collapse underneath strain. Solely Navin Bidaisee provided actual resistance with a topscore of twenty-two, because the Windies limped to 129 for 9 from their 20 overs. The defeat handed Nepal their first-ever victory in opposition to a Full Member nation and a priceless 1-0 lead within the three-match collection.
Paudel’s dedication after historic win
Nepal’s captain and Participant-of-the-Match, Rohit Paudel, described the end result as each monumental and deeply private. His 38 anchored the innings, earlier than his bowlers dismantled the West Indies batting.
“I believe it feels nice, particularly after an extended wait to beat a Take a look at-playing nation,” Paudel stated. “It lastly got here in a historic collection the place we hosted it within the UAE. I wish to dedicate this Man-of-the-Match award to the martyrs who misplaced their lives within the Gen-Z protest in Nepal. The final month has not been nice for us, so if we may give a bit of little bit of happiness to the individuals of Nepal, I believe that might be nice.”
Holder and Bidaisee limit Nepal
Earlier, Jason Holder and Navin Bidaisee had mixed to restrict Nepal to 148 for eight after the Windies opted to area. Holder snatched 4-20 whereas Bidaisee bagged 3-29, as Nepal recovered from 12 for 2 to publish a aggressive complete.
Paudel and Kushal Malla (30) steadied the innings in a 58-run stand earlier than each fell in fast succession. Gulshan Jha (22) and Dipendra Singh Airee (17) chipped in late runs that finally proved very important.
Windies collapse underneath strain
In reply, the West Indies started brightly when Kyle Mayers drove the primary ball of the innings to the boundary. However his pleasure was short-lived—run out brilliantly by Kushal Bhurtel’s direct hit from additional cowl moments later.
Debutant Ackeem Auguste struck a brisk 15 earlier than falling to Nandan Yadav, sparking a devastating collapse. From a promising 32 for one, the Windies slumped to 76 for six within the fifteenth over.
Paudel himself snared Jewel Andrew for 5, Lalit Rajbanshi deceived Amir Jangoo (19), Keacy Carty was needlessly run out for 16, and Holder perished cheaply to Bhurtel.
Although Fabian Allen (19), captain Akeal Hosein (18 off 9) and Bidaisee fought to revive the innings, the injury was already carried out. Nepal’s bowlers and fielders held their nerve to script one of many best moments of their cricketing historical past.
What comes subsequent
The second T20I shall be contested on Monday, with the West Indies underneath intense strain to keep away from an embarrassing collection defeat and Nepal searching for to increase their fairytale.
