Nepal defeats West Indies by 90 runs in second T20I

KATHMANDU: Nepal created history on Monday, sealing a bilateral T20I series victory over former world champions West Indies with a commanding 90-run win in Sharjah. The triumph gave Nepal an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, with one game still to play.

Batting first, Nepal posted a competitive 173 for 6 on the back of half-centuries from Aasif Sheikh (68 off 47) and Sundeep Jora (63 off 39).  Although Nepal lost opener Kushal Bhurtel, Captain Rohit Paudel cheaply, Aasif formed a century stand with Jora  for the fourth wicket. Their late acceleration saw Nepal smash nine sixes in the second half of the innings.

Akeal Hosein and Kyle Mayers picked two wickets each for the West Indies, while Jediah Blades claimed one.

In reply, the Caribbean side collapsed to 83 all out in 17.1 overs, its sixth-lowest T20I total. Only Jason Holder (21) offered resistance as Nepal’s bowlers dominated. Mohammad Aadil Alam, making his comeback after three years, claimed 4 for 24, while Kushal Bhurtel made amends for his poor batting with a figure of 3 for 16. Lalit Rajbanshi took two wickets.

The victory marked the biggest winning margin by an Associate team against a Full Member in T20Is.