T20 World Cup: West Indies into Super Eights with 9-wicket win over Nepal

Holder’s four-fer and a 91-run Hope/Hetmyer partnership set up a comfortable win for the West Indies

West Indies 134 for 1 (Hope 61*, Hetmyer 46*; Yadav 1-24) beat Nepal 133 for 8 (Airee 58, Kami 26*; Holder 4-27) by 9 wickets

The West Indies have secured qualification to the Super Eight stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup following a 9-wicket win over Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India, on Sunday. 

A 4-wicket haul from player of the match Jason Holder highlighted a clinical effort with the ball for the Caribbean side before a 91-run partnership between skipper Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer took the sting out of the Nepalese attack to secure their place in the next round with one group game still to play.

The West Indies had a dream start with the ball after electing to field. Akeal Hosein bowled Kushal Bhurtel for one in the first over, before Matthew Forde removed Rohit Paudel for 5 in a wicket-maiden 4th. Jason Holder then accounted for Aarif Sheikh (2), leaving Nepal reeling at 17 for 3 in the 5th. 

By the 11th over, they had lost half their side and were restricted to 46 for 5. Top scorer Dipendra Singh Airee then anchored two 20-plus partnerships to stabilise the innings. First, a 23-run stand (25 balls) with Lokesh Bam, who made 13, followed by a 27-run 26-ball stay with Gulsan Jha (11). 

Airee (58) was joined by Sompal Kami, and the pair smashed 54 from 26 for the 7th wicket before the former fell to Holder (4/27) in the final over of the innings. Sompal Kami finished unbeaten on 26 from 15 as Nepal fought their way to 133 for 8 from their allotment.

Brandon King and Shai Hope saw off any early seam threat in the chase with a 34-ball 43-run opening stand. King fell to Nandan Yadav in the final over of the powerplay, after scoring 22 off 17 deliveries. Shimron Hetmyer joined Hope and quickly found his timing with the spinners in operation. 

They were rarely troubled in their 59-ball unbroken 91-run stand. Hope (61*) brought up his half-century with a straight six in the 15th, his first of two maximums in the over. The West Indies completed the chase in the following over at 134 for 1, earning their third win on the trot to become the first team to qualify for the Super Eights. Hetmyer finished unbeaten on 46.