Media365
Nepal secured a historic Twenty20 cricket series victory against the West Indies with a record-breaking 90-run win on Monday in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, marking their second consecutive triumph over a full ICC member nation with one match remaining in the series.Nepal posted a competitive total of 173-6, powered by career-best performances from Aasif Sheikh and Sundeep Jora, before dismissing the West Indies for just 83 runs in 17.1 overs.The victory followed Nepal’s first-ever win against the two-time world champion West Indies on Saturday, where they won by 19 runs.Sheikh remained unbeaten with 68 runs off 47 balls, while Jora contributed 63 runs from 39 deliveries, including five sixes. The pair combined for a crucial 100-run partnership in 11 overs after Nepal was struggling at 43-3.Mohammad Aadil Alam delivered an outstanding bowling performance, claiming a career-best 4-24 in his ninth T20 match.The West Indies, fielding a second-string team, introduced 19-year-old leg-spinner Zishan Motara as their fifth debutant in the series.The 83-run total marked the lowest score by a full member nation against an associate team in T20s, falling below England’s previous low of 88 against the Netherlands in the 2014 T20 World Cup.Only three West Indies batsmen reached double figures, with Jason Holder top-scoring with 21 runs.“For us, it’s just about understanding really fast that this is international cricket,” West Indies captain Akeal Hosein said. “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.”“We are very happy,” Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said. “It took a lot to win against a test-playing country. This was a very important series for us to showcase our cricket and talent to the world. The way we’ve been playing the last two or three years, lots of eyes are on us. The motivation is to complete a clean sweep.”The defeat continues a difficult period for West Indies cricket, following their test team’s collapse for 27 runs against Australia in Kingston in July, the second-lowest total in men’s test history.The third and final T20 match is scheduled for Tuesday.
