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Nepal produced a stunning performance to bowl the West Indies out for just 83 in the second T20I in Sharjah on Monday and claim a 2-0 victory in their first-ever series against a Test-playing country with a game to spare.
After racking up 173 for six in their 20 overs with half-centuries for Aasif Sheikh and Sundeep Jora, Nepal, ranked 18th in the world skitted the West Indies in 17.1 overs to claim victory by a crushing 90 runs.
Mohammad Aadil Alam took 4-24 while Kushal Bhurtel took 3-16 in just 2.1 overs of leg spin.
It marked the biggest winning margin for an associate member nation against a full member while West Indies’ total of 83 is the lowest a full member has mustered against an associate.
“We are very happy. It took a lot to win against a Test-playing country,” said Nepal captain Rohit Paudel whose side won the opener on Saturday by 19 runs.
“After two days, winning a bilateral series feels really great. The way we’ve been playing the last two or three years, lots of eyes are on us.”
“We want to continue this way and play more against Test-playing nations.”
Nepal’s total was built on a 100-run fourth-wicket partnership between opener Aasif Sheikh, who batted through for 68 not out, and Jora, who clubbed five sixes in his 39-ball 63.
West Indies were quickly in trouble at 23 for three. They rebuilt to 63-4 in the 12th over before collapsing to 83 all out.
“For us, it’s just about understanding really fast that this is international cricket,” said West Indies captain Akeal Hosein.
“If you try to benchmark yourself here and can’t match the level, then you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re really international material.”
The humiliation comes two months after the West Indies’ Test team was bowled out for just 27 by Australia, the second-lowest score in Test history.
The two-time T20 World Cup winners also failed to qualify for the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and are currently outside the qualifying places for the next edition in 2027.
The third match in this series takes place on Tuesday with Nepal looking to sweep the series.
“We want to finish the series on a high note,” said Paudel.
“The motivation is to complete a clean sweep but for that, we have to start again from the beginning. We want to carry this momentum into the qualifiers, and we want to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.”
