ICC World Cup: Nepal suffers heavy defeat against West Indies

KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a heavy 9-wicket defeat against the West Indies in Sunday’s ICC World Cup match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

West Indies won the toss and elected to field first. Batting first, Nepal managed 133 for 8 in their 20 overs, with Dipendra Singh Airee scoring a fighting 58 runs, the only half-century for Nepal in the innings.

Sompal Kami remained unbeaten on 26, and their partnership provided some resistance after early collapses. Other Nepalese batsmen struggled, with opener Kushal Bhurtel scoring 1, Ashif Sheikh 11, captain Rohit Poudel 5, Arif Sheikh 2, Lokesh Bam 13, and Gulshan Jha 11.

Nepal’s bowling lacked penetration. Nandan Yadav took the sole wicket of West Indies opener Brandon King, who scored 22 off 17 balls with four fours. Shai Hope starred with a half-century, scoring 61 off 44 balls, including five fours and three sixes. Shimron Hetmyer remained unbeaten on 46 off 32 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes, guiding West Indies to a comfortable victory in just 15.2 overs.

Nepal’s innings showed glimpses of resistance through Dipendra and Sompal, but overall, the team struggled in both batting and bowling against a strong West Indies side.