KATHMANDU:- To the matter of felicity to all Nepalis, especially the sports fraternity, the Nepali cricketers have set a record in the international games by defeating the West Indies in the Unity Cup first T-20 match.
Nepal defeated the West Indies by 19 runs in the match played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE, on Saturday. The West Indies chased the 149 runs given by Nepal, but was able to secure only 129 runs with the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs. Kushal Bhurtel took two wickets, while captain Rohit Paudel, Karan KC, Dipendra Singh Airi, and Nandan Yadav took one wicket each.
Captain Paudel made the highest 38 runs with three fours and one six, while Kushal Malla gathered 39 runs with two fours and two sixes, Gulshan Jha 22 runs, and Airi 17. Quoting the player of the match and Nepali captain, Rohit Paudel, a media, cricbuzz.com, stated, “80-90 per cent we have matched our skills, the spinners were great today as well as the experienced Karan and Sompal.
Want to dedicate this award to the martyrs back home who participated in the protest.” Similarly, on Nepal’s achievement, the Times of India wrote in the online edition, “Nepal achieved a historic milestone in the international T20 cricket by defeating the West Indies by 19 runs in the first match of their three-match T20I series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
This victory marked Nepal’s first-ever win against a full member nation of the International Cricket Council (ICC), giving them a 1-0 lead in the series.” Nepal is playing the second match with the West Indies on Monday again.