Mumbai, Feb 15 – Shai Hope led the West Indies to victory with an unbeaten 61, supported by Shimron Hetmyer's 46, defeating Nepal by nine wickets in a dominant performance. This victory secured the West Indies' qualification for the Super Eights stage of the T20 World Cup.
Following a strong performance by Jason Holder, who took 4/27, limiting Nepal to 133/8 despite Dipendra Singh Airee's valiant 58, the West Indies cruised to 134/1 in 15.2 overs, winning the match comfortably.
With three wins in as many matches, the West Indies topped their Group C and qualified for the Super 8s.
Hope's 61 (44 balls, 5 fours, 3 sixes) was a key contribution, while Hetmyer's 46 (32 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) provided crucial support.
Despite a large crowd filling the Wankhede Stadium, Nepal's fans were disappointed after another heavy defeat.
Brandon King (22) had a promising start, hitting three fours off Sompal Kami in the fifth over of the chase, but was soon dismissed, mis-hitting a shot to mid-on.
The West Indies bowlers maintained pressure, preventing Nepal from building a significant total.
Hope's half-century included a powerful drive down the ground, while Hetmyer started with two fours in the seventh over, but fell short of his second fifty in the tournament. Together, they put on an unbeaten 91 for the second wicket.
The West Indies batsmen continued their strong performance, scoring 134/1 in 15.2 overs.
Earlier, Airee (58) and Sompal Kami (26) provided a late surge, lifting Nepal to 133/8.
Apart from Airee, who hit three sixes and as many fours in his 47-ball 58, the Nepal batters struggled on a pitch that didn't favor spin.
Without Airee's strong performance and Kami's late strikes, Nepal would have likely scored a significantly lower total.
Airee displayed excellent application and aggression, punishing any loose deliveries, while his running between the wickets was sharp.
Nepal had slipped to 46/5 in the 11th over, struggling to find momentum on a batting-friendly track.
The slide began for Nepal in the first over when Kushal Bhurtel (1) was dismissed by Akeal Hosein. Hosein's arm ball kept angling into the right-handed batter, who was cramped for room.
Nepal captain Rohit Paudel (5) had only himself to blame when he missed connecting with a leg-side flick, with Matthew Forde's ball crashing into his pads.
Paudel reviewed the on-field decision, but replays showed the ball would have grazed the leg-stump.
However, perhaps the worst shot came from Nepal No. 5 Aarif Sheikh, who guided an outside leg-stump delivery from Jason Holder (4/27) straight to fine-leg, giving the former West Indies captain his first wicket.
Forde continued to test Nepal batters outside the off stump, but he could not find an edge despite his persistent line and length.
At 22/3 after the end of the sixth over, Nepal had recorded the lowest powerplay score for this T20 World Cup.
Forde did, however, bowl a wicket-maiden fourth over and took a fine catch at midwicket to dismiss Aarif Sheikh (2) off Holder with the sun in his eyes.
Nepal's hero in the clash against England, Lokesh Bam (13) fell cheaply again, and Gulsan Jha (11) also struggled. But a 54-run stand between Airee and Kami provided much-needed impetus, albeit late in the innings.
