Kamal Ghorui
West Indies became the first team to reach the Super Eights stage of the T20 World Cup after an easy nine-wicket win over Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They dominated the match from start to finish and chased down the target comfortably.Nepal batted first and struggled badly against the West Indies bowlers. They lost early wickets and were in trouble at 22 for 3 and then 46 for 5, putting them under heavy pressure.
Dipendra Singh Airee was the only batter who fought back, scoring 58 runs and helping Nepal cross 100. Sompal Kami also contributed with 26 not out, but the rest of the team failed to score much. Nepal finished with 133 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs.West Indies’ bowlers were impressive. Jason Holder was the standout performer with figures of 4 wickets for 27 runs, while Matthew Forde bowled very tightly and took one wicket for just 10 runs in his four overs.In reply, West Indies made the chase look very easy. Captain Shai Hope played a calm and confident innings, scoring 61 not out with five fours and three sixes. Shimron Hetmyer supported him well with 46 not out, and together they added an unbeaten partnership of 91 runs. West Indies reached the target in just 15.2 overs, with 28 balls left, losing only one wicket.With this win, West Indies topped their group and became the first team to qualify for the Super Eights. On the other hand, Nepal were knocked out of the tournament and can no longer move to the next stage.
