Nepal makes history in Sharjah with maiden win over full member West Indies

Nepal, the Himalayan nation, wrote a new chapter in cricket history in Sharjah by defeating the West Indies by 19 runs in the first match of a three-match T20 series. This marks Nepal's first-ever victory over a full member of the ICC.

Although Nepal had beaten Afghanistan back in 2014, Afghanistan were still an associate member at that time.

Yesterday's game was the first-ever meeting between Nepal and the West Indies. It is also Nepal's first bilateral series against a full member nation. And on that very stage, they managed to defeat the two-time T20 World Cup champions. Batting first after losing the toss, Nepal posted 148 for 8 in their 20 overs. In reply, West Indies were restricted to 129.

Nepal shone in all three departments—batting, bowling, and fielding. Six Nepalese batters hit at least one six, six bowlers took wickets, and the fielding was equally impressive.

West Indies, fielding a second-string side for the series, handed debuts to four players in the match. They started well with the ball, as Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder dismissed both Nepalese openers within the first 12 runs. By the fifth over, Nepal's batters had managed just two boundaries. Rohit Paudel then hit two consecutive fours in the sixth over to double that count, followed by an attacking innings from Kushal Malla, who scored 30 off 21 balls to inject momentum. He and Rohit added 58 runs for the third wicket.

Rohit eventually made 38 off 35 balls. In the latter stages of the innings, Gulshan Jha (22) and Dipendra Singh Airee (17) helped push Nepal's total to 148. Jason Holder was the pick of the bowlers for West Indies, taking 4 for 20.

In response, the West Indies managed 40 runs in the powerplay but lost Kyle Mayers and Akeem Auguste early. From the seventh over, Nepal's spinners seized control. Captain Rohit Paudel removed debutant Jewel Andrew in his first over, and in the next, Lalit Rajbanshi dismissed Amir Jangoo. At that point, West Indies were 53 for 4.

Further trouble followed as Keacy Carty and Jason Holder fell quickly, deepening the crisis. With 3 overs left, West Indies needed 49 runs. Akeal Hosein and Fabian Allen briefly raised hopes by scoring 19 runs in a single over from Sompal Kami. That brought the equation down to 30 from 2 overs.

However, in the 19th over, Karan KC dismissed Akeal for 18 off 9 balls, effectively ending the Caribbean chase.

This was Nepal's first win in eight T20 matches against full member nations. Meanwhile, West Indies' struggles against associate nations continued—they lost to Scotland in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Ireland in 2014, and Afghanistan in 2016 (when Afghanistan were still an associate).

After the win, an elated Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said,
"It feels amazing. After waiting so long, we've finally beaten a Test-playing country. That too, in a series we organised ourselves here in the UAE. This is just the beginning; there's a lot more to come. We came here with the clear goal of winning the series. We're staying grounded and will keep following the process—let's see what happens next."

The second T20 of the three-match series will be played tomorrow.