Nepal notched up their biggest victory yet when they stunned West Indies on Sunday, winning the first T20I match at Sharjah by 19 runs. This was the first time that Nepal have ever beaten a full-member nation team. After the stunning win, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel had a message for his country which has been rocked by protests over corruption and social media bans.
“Want to dedicate this award to the martyrs back home who participated in the protest. The last month has not been great for us, so if we can give a little bit of happiness to the people of Nepal, I think that would be great,” Paudel said after the match.
Talking about the win, he said, “It’s feeling great, a long wait to beat a Test playing country, that too it has come in a series we have hosted in UAE. 150-160 was par here, looking at the previous series here, teams were winning after scoring 150-160. 80-90 per cent we have matched our skills, the spinners were great today as well as the experienced Karan and Sompal. It’s just the beginning, lot more to come. The mindset was very clear, if we are coming here, we are there to win the series. We are still grounded, we will do the process right and we will see whatever comes next.”
🇳🇵A new chapter written in Nepal’s cricketing story! 📣
Rhinos 🇳🇵 defeats West Indies by 19 runs our first-ever triumph against a full member nation! pic.twitter.com/98cJlLMAwP
— CAN (@CricketNep) September 27, 2025
Before toppling the Windies, the most significant win for Nepal was against Afghanistan in 2014, but the latter were still an Associate Member at that time. For the West Indies, this was another stunning loss, on par with their loss against Scotland at Hobart in the 2022 World Cup. Before that, they had inexplicably lost against Ireland in 2014 and against Afghanistan in the 2016 T20 World Cup when both those teams were associate members.
Sent in to bat, Nepal posted 148 for 8 and then returned to restrict West Indies to 129 for nine.
West Indies reduced Nepal to 12 for 2 in the fourth over after Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder struck early. But Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel (38) and Kushal Malla (30) steadied the innings with a 58-run stand before debutant Navin Bidaisee dismissed both in quick succession.
Malla provided the early impetus with two sixes, while Dipendra Singh Airee (24) and Gulsan Jha chipped in to keep the scoreboard moving.
Holder dented Nepal with three wickets in the 19th over, but some inconsistent catching from West Indies allowed Nepal to post a competitive 148 for 8.
In reply, West Indies’ chase began poorly as Kyle Mayers was run out by a sharp direct hit from Bhurtel. Debutant Ackeem Auguste (15) briefly counterattacked with two sixes, but the Nepal spinners soon applied the brakes.
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Lalit Rajbanshi and Paudel bowled tight middle overs to leave West Indies reeling.
Airee then caught Keacy Carty short of his crease in a brilliant fielding effort, and with Holder (5) falling cheaply to Bhurtel, the Caribbean side’s hopes faded.
Hosein and Fabian Allen struck a few blows later, but Karan KC dismissed Hosein in the 19th over to all but seal the result.
(With agency inputs)
The postAfter stunning West Indies by 19 runs, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel says win to give little bit of happiness to people back home | Cricket News appeared first on Indian Express
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