Nepal’s Super Eight Hopes End with Third Straight Loss

Nepal’s hopes of advancing to the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ended with a third consecutive defeat in Group C on Sunday, February 15.

At Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, the West Indies handed Nepal a comprehensive nine-wicket defeat.

Twenty teams, divided into four groups, are competing for a place in the Super Eight, which is reserved for the top two teams from each group. 

Nepal currently languish at the bottom of Group C, which is led by West Indies (6 points), followed by England (4 points), Scotland (2 points), and Italy (2 points). 

Sunday’s fixture turned out to be another difficult outing for Nepal, who had previously lost a thrilling encounter to England by four runs on February 8 and were outplayed by Italy by ten wickets on February 12.

Batting first after losing the toss, Nepal’s top order struggled, slipping to 17/3 in just 4.1 overs and scoring only 22 runs in the powerplay. The middle order failed to recover consistently, though a valiant 54-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Dipendra Singh Airee and Sompal Kami provided some resistance. Airee was the standout performer with 58 runs, while Kami contributed a quick 26 off 15 balls at the end.

Other contributors included Lokesh Bam (13), Gulshan Jha (11), Aasif Sheikh (11), and Rohit Paudel (5).

Opener Kushal Bhurtel managed just 1, while Aarif Sheikh scored 2 and Karan KC fell for 1, leaving Nepal at 133/8 after 20 overs.

West Indies chased the target comfortably in 15.2 overs, losing only one wicket. Captain Shai Hope anchored the innings with an unbeaten 61, supported by Shimron Hetmyer, who remained on 46 not out. Opener Brandon King added 22 before being caught by Kushal Bhurtel off Nandan Yadav.

In the bowling department, Jason Holder led the West Indies’ attack with four wickets, while Akeal Hosein, Matthew Forde, Shamar Joseph, and Roston Chase took one wicket apiece.

With this victory, West Indies confirmed their place in the Super Eight stage with a game to spare against Italy. Nepal, meanwhile, will face Scotland in Mumbai on Tuesday, February 17, hoping to end their campaign on a positive note.

Earlier in the tournament, Oman in Group B also suffered three successive losses, ending their Super Eight hopes.