Men in Maroon red hot: Jason Holder, Shai Hope seal Super 8 spot, eye 2016 T20 World Cup encore

MUMBAI: West Indies thrashed Nepal by nine wickets at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday to qualify for the Super Eights of the 2026 T20 World Cup, becoming the second team after South Africa to do so.

West Indies came into the tournament short of form, losing a T20I series against South Africa 2-1 in Jan and a three-match T20I series by the same scoreline to Nepal last Sept in Sharjah. However, a T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, where they emerged as champions when both countries previously hosted the event, seemed to bring out the best in the Caribbeans.

West Indies’ former captain and present head coach Daren Sammy termed the Wankhede Stadium as “lucky” for them as they played flawless cricket to beat a listless Nepal, who flattered to deceive after an impressive opener against England.

The stars of West Indies’ win were their former and current captains, Jason Holder and Shai Hope. Holder, who bounced back after conceding 0-34 in two overs in West Indies’ 30-run win over England at the same venue earlier this week, took 4-27 as West Indies restricted Nepal to 133-8 after Nepal elected to bowl first on a pitch that seemed two-paced initially.

In a surprising move, West Indies dropped medium-pacer Romario Shepherd, who took a five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, in the first match. His replacement, pacer Matthew Forde, bowled superbly with the new ball and finished with 1-10 in four overs which included a maiden-wicket over in the powerplay, a rarity in T20 cricket.

Chasing 134, Hope shrugged off poor scores of 0, 19 and 5 in the first three matches and led the way with 61 not out off 44 balls, with five fours and three sixes. He shared an unbeaten 91-run stand for the second wicket with Shimron Hetmyer, who stayed unbeaten on 46 off 32 balls, with four fours and two sixes.

Hope and fellow opener Brandon King provided a 43-run start in 33 balls. Hope executed a straight drive off Karan KC in the third over, while King made 22 off 17 balls before he was caught at mid-on off Nandan Yadav. Hope also hit three fours off Kami in the fifth over.

Nepal’s biggest disappointment with the ball was leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who conceded 0-38 in three overs as Hope and Hetmyer attacked him.

Asked if the win against Nepal was sweet given West Indies’ shock T20I series loss to them last year, Hope said at the post-match press conference, “Well, that’s in the past. It’s history. Nepal played good cricket then. We’ve got to stay in the present and we’ve got to ensure we play our best crick-et because we see Nepal as a very good team regardless of who they’re playing against and where. So, we needed to bring our ‘A’ game once again today. But today, we needed to get over the line to ensure our Super 8s qualification.”

West Indies’ last league game against Italy at Kolkata on Thursday is now of academic interest and they will play their first Super Eight game at the Wankhede on Feb 23. Nepal will play their final game against Scotland on Tuesday at Wankhede.

Sunday’s result knocked Nepal out of the competition and left their large number of fans dejected. The heaving stands fell silent as the West Indian batters dominated, with Nepal’s fans finding their voice only during a late surge led by Dipendra Singh Airee and Sompal Kami. Airee made 58 off 46 balls, with three fours and three sixes, while Kami scored 26 not out off 15 balls, with four fours, as they added 54 runs in 26 balls for the seventh wicket after Nepal slipped to 73 for six in 15 overs.

Brief Scores: Nepal 133 for 8 in 20 overs (Dipendra Singh Airee 58, Sompal Kami 26; Jason Holder 4-27) lost to West Indies 134 for 1 in 15.2 overs (Shai Hope 61, Shimron Hetmyer 46; Nandan Yadav 1-24).

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