West Indies A’s tour of Nepal got off to an unfortunate start on Saturday. They suffered a four-wicket loss to their host in a high-scoring opening fixture of their five-match Twenty20 series at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.
Set a formidable 204 by West Indies A, Nepal’s thrilling victory, set up by a captain’s knock from Rohit Paudel, etched their names in the history books.
They successfully reached their target at 206-6 with two balls to spare.
Paudel smashed a 54-ball 112, including ten fours and two sixes, to see his team to a 1-0 lead in the series, which West Indies Head coach Darren Sammy said offers his team a chance to define roles and personnel more clearly for their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad.
However, the Caribbean side’s all-round effort was found wanting, as only captain Roston Chase (74), Alick Athanaze (47), and Keacy Carty (38) offered any resistance with the bat, while only Obed McCoy (2-34) and Matthew Forde (2-49) had some semblance of success with the ball.
Asked to take first strike, after losing the toss, West Indies A suffered an early blow, as they lost Johnson Charles (zero) off the last ball of the opening over, with 16 runs on the board.
Andre Fletcher (13) stuck two sixes off five balls before he, too, departed via the run-out route, leaving West Indies A at 43-2 in the fourth over.
However, Athanaze went about business, striking three sixes and five fours in a 25-ball knock.
He put on 43 for the third wicket with Chase prior to his demise. From there, Chase and Carty added another 60 runs in a fourth-wicket stand that defined the innings.
Carty’s 38 off 26 balls included two fours and three sixes, while Chase, who anchored the innings with a captain’s knock, struck nine fours and two sixes in his 46-ball 74. Kadeem Alleyne, on 14, and Keemo Paul, one, were left not out.
With runs on the board, West Indies A would have felt confident of wrapping up a win, even more so, after Forde and McCoy combined to remove openers Anil Sah (five) and Kushal Bhurtel (16) to have Nepal at 38-2 in the fifth over.
West Indies remained in the ascendancy when Fletcher and Charles combined to run out Kushal Malla (16), leaving their host on the ropes at 82-3 at the halfway mark.
However, Paudel showed class in not only reviving his team’s innings but also pushing them all the way with some aggressive stroke play, assisted by wayward bowling from West Indies A attack at times.
Dipendra Singh Airee (24) supported his captain in getting Nepal across the line for a famous victory. (SportsMax)
