WI vs NEP Match 25 T20I WC Highlights: WI Won by 9 Wickets

West Indies cruised into the Super 8s with a dominant nine-wicket victory over Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium, chasing down 134 with nearly five overs to spare. 

Matthew Forde’s exceptional opening spell of 4-1-10-1 and Jason Holder’s four-wicket haul restricted Nepal to 133/8, their lowest powerplay score of the tournament at 22/3, setting the tone for a difficult innings. 

Despite Dipendra Singh Airee’s fighting 58 off 47 balls and Sompal Kami’s late cameo of 26 off 15, Nepal couldn’t post a competitive total. Shai Hope’s unbeaten 60 and Shimron Hetmyer’s 46* made light work of the chase as West Indies officially became the first team to qualify for the next stage.

Match Details

First Innings Highlights

Nepal endured a disastrous start, slumping to 22/3 in the powerplay – the lowest powerplay score of the tournament. Akeal Hosein struck first ball, bowling Kushal Bhurtel (1) with an arm ball that cut back sharply. 

Matthew Forde then produced a wicket-maiden fourth over, trapping captain Rohit Paudel (5) lbw with a delivery that nipped back. Jason Holder joined the attack and immediately struck, removing Aasif Sheikh (11) who miscued a pull straight to fine leg. 

Dipendra Singh Airee attempted to rebuild with Aarif Sheikh, but at 68/5, Nepal were in deep trouble. Airee found an ally in Sompal Kami, and the pair added a vital 54-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Airee reached his fifty with an upper-cut six off Shamar Joseph, finishing with 58 off 47 balls (3 fours, 3 sixes) in a composed knock. 

Kami provided fireworks at the death, smashing three consecutive fours off Holder and a six off Joseph to race to 26 off 15 balls. However, Holder returned to dismiss both set batters in the final overs, completing excellent figures of 4/27.

Second Innings Highlights

West Indies made light work of the chase despite losing Brandon King (22 off 17 with 4 fours) to Nandan Yadav, caught at mid-on. King had started aggressively, striking three fours in Sompal Kami’s second over. 

Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer combined for an unbroken 93-run partnership to seal victory. Hope played the anchor role perfectly, reaching his fifty with a six off Sandeep Lamichhane before finishing unbeaten on 60 off 42 balls. 

Hetmyer provided the fireworks with 46* off 32 balls, striking a massive six off Gudakesh Motie and finding boundaries regularly. The pair rotated strike effortlessly and punished any loose deliveries, completing the chase in just 15.2 overs to confirm West Indies as the first team into the Super 8s.