Aasif Sheikh, Sundeep Jora shine in Nepal’s record-breaking win against West Indies

SHARJAH: Nepal Cricket Team went on to create history on Monday as they defeated Test-playing nation West Indies in a T20 bilateral series for the first time in the history of the sport.

Fresh from a 19-run victory in the opening match of the series on Saturday, Nepal displayed their capabilities with an emphatic 90-run triumph in the second match of the series to open up an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series, according to ICC.

It was Nepal’s first-ever series triumph against a Full Member and provided the side with plenty of confidence ahead of next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia-Pacific Regional Final, where they will be one of three sides attempting to qualify for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Opener Aasif Sheikh (68*)* and middle-order batter Sundeep Jora (63) put on 100 for the fourth wicket to help Nepal post 173/6 from their 20 overs, and Mohammad Aadil Alam collected four wickets as the West Indies were skittled for just 83 in reply.

The victory was the largest ever recorded by an Associate team over a Full Member side, and Nepal captain Rohit Paudel was understandably thrilled with the result.

“We are very happy. It took a lot to win against a Test-playing country and after two days, winning a bilateral series feels really great. 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. We want to continue this way and play more against Test-playing nations,” Paudel said after the match as quoted by the ICC.

“We want to finish the series on a high note. The motivation is to complete a clean sweep but for that, we have to start again from the beginning. We want to carry this momentum into the qualifiers, and we want to qualify for the 2026 World Cup,” he added.

The third match of the series will be held in Sharjah on Tuesday. (ANI)