Mumbai: Two sides with contrasting fortunes, Nepal and West Indies, clash in an intriguing mix of cricketing cultures at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Group C match at the Wankhede Stadium, here on Sunday.
On a day when all the eyes will be on Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium later in the evening for the India-Pakistan blockbuster in Group A, two-time T20 World Cup champions West Indies and gritty Nepal will look to arrest some attention in the morning.
Coming into the World Cup, Nepal were expected to be competitive having beaten West Indies in a bilateral T20I series 2-1 and further demonstrated that ability and punched well and truly above their weight to run England scarily close to a shock defeat but eventually lost the game by four runs.
With loads of appreciation coming from all quarters of the cricketing world and some of the legends of the game, Nepal were on an almighty-high.
However, the Rohit Paudel-led side were brought right back to the basics and were given a rude reality check a team playing at the World Cup for the first time, Italy.
The manner of their defeat, by 10 wickets, gave the Nepal side the harsh and cruel reality of cricket at the highest level and playing at the biggest platform like a World Cup where momentary lapses of concentration or a tinge of complacency can cost any team dear in critical situations.
Nepal struggled with both bat and ball spectacularly and surprisingly against the Italians, who rose to the occasion like true champions.
Now, coming up against the West Indies, Nepal will have to raise their bar just like the game against England or go even better considering the Windies had beaten England earlier by 30 runs a few days ago.
The West Indies are always a force to reckon with in the shortest format of the sport given their incredible power-hitting ability that can go all the way down to even a No 8.
The Windies had clinched their two T20 World Cup crowns in 2012 and 2016 on exactly this particular skill which keeps them in good stead at any competition.
Sherfane Rutherford was in ruthless form in the match against England smashing 76 off 42 balls with two fours and seven sixes. Their No 7 Jason Holder knocked off 33 in 17 balls which comprised one four and four massive sixes which ultimately made all the difference taking them to 196/6 in 20 overs.
It’s this six-hitting potential in the death overs that make the West Indies such a dangerous side for any opposition and Nepal would be all too aware of this while facing the side from the Caribbean.
Teams (from):
West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hossain, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph, Matthrew Forde, Quentin Simpson, Johnson Charles, Jayden Seales
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (capt), Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Aarif Sheikh, Basir Ahmad, Sundeep Jora, Lokesh Bam, Sompal Kami, Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Karan KC, Sher Malla, Nandan Yadav
