A day that will be written in glitter and gold in the history of Nepal cricket, 27 September saw them register their first win against a Test-playing nation by toppling the West Indies by 19 runs in the first T20I of the three-match series in Sharjah.
Nepal had played 180 international matches before finally securing a breakthrough win against a Full Member nation. For the West Indies, however, it marks another unexpected defeat at the hands of an associate team.
The two-time T20 World Cup champions were previously defeated by Scotland in 2022. Earlier, they suffered losses to Ireland in 2014 and Afghanistan in the 2016 T20 World Cup in Nagpur — both of whom were still associate members at the time. This encounter also marked Nepal’s first T20I against the West Indies and their first-ever bilateral series against a Full Member side.
Nepal outclassed the West Indies in all three departments. On a tricky Sharjah pitch, they crawled to 148. The openers were removed early, but the middle order stood up for Nepal. Leading the charge with the bat was captain Rohit Paudel, who won the Player of the Match award for top‑scoring with 38 and also took one wicket. While Paudel took 35 balls for his 38, the acceleration in the middle order was provided by Kushal Malla, who scored 30 off 21 balls with the help of two sixes and two fours. Gulsan Jha and Dipendra Singh Airee also chipped in with useful cameos. Jason Holder returned figures of 4 for 20, while debutant Navin Bidaisee also claimed a three‑wicket haul.
Kyle Mayers hit the first ball for a boundary to kick-start the run chase, but was soon run-out by Kushal Bhurtel, who claimed two wickets with his leg-spin. Defending the target, not only was Nepal’s bowling good, their fielding was the real standout.
Dipendra played a key role in sending back Keacy Carty — who has been in good white-ball form this year — with a brilliant fielding effort. Both the dismissals of Mayers and Carty were crucial and hampered the West Indies’ chase. West Indies captain Akeal Hosein was dropped twice in the same over, but fortunately for Nepal, that did not cost them much. Nepal’s spinners wove a web around the West Indies batters. The equation came down to 93 from the last 10 overs on a slow pitch, difficult for shot-making. In the end, the Men in Maroon finished on 129.
“It feels great. It has been a long wait to beat a Test‑playing country, and especially that it has come in a series we are hosting in the UAE,” said Rohit Paudel after the match.
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