Hope, Pooran centuries headline West Indies' rout of Nepal
Holder, Joseph, Paul and Hosein ran through Nepal despite a poor fielding display by West Indies
Holder, Joseph, Paul and Hosein ran through Nepal despite a poor fielding display by West Indies
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Rvel Zahid
Thanks all for your company and feedback. Stick around for Danyal Rasool's report. But from me, cheerio!
Rohit Paudel, Nepal Captain: I think in early stages, we bowled really well but we dropped a few catches...we could have done better in the field. Usually we field well but today we missed a few opportunities. Later both Pooran and Hope batted really well so credit to them also. I think we could have done better by using the pace, Aarif and Gulshan played really well. We look forward to tackle them and short balls. (on biggest learning) playing against Test playing nations have taught me a lot. We have to be up to the mark in every game.Â
Shai Hope, West Indies Captain and Player of the Match: I believe the rhythm was a bit off. I am just happy that I came good for the team. We were put on the backfoot there...happy to get the team over the line today. The key was absorbing as much pressure as possible and then find a way to transfer that pressure in the back end. Pooran made it a lot easier for me. The aim was to take it as deep as possible give us the best chance towards the end. I don't think I hit the targets where I wanted to but happy to just bat as deep as I possibly could there. The team really needed me. They bowled well, must commend their bowlers, especially their spinners, they stuck to their task well. We batted well in that period to overcome their spin threat. There's obviously room for improvement, so we need to make sure we are ticking those boxes going into the next game.
We saw a significant mismatch in both teams' bowling. West Indies, the big boys, were quite clinical with the ball and tested Nepal with the short-pitch barrage, bouncing out many batters. Heartbreaking for Nepal, of course, but they yet again played with a lot of passion and valour. However, they struggled against the likes of Holder, Joseph, Mayers and then later Akeal spun a web around the batters. It's a massive learning curve for them playing against an experienced side and they almost batted through 50 overs. They were able to peg West Indies back with the ball in the bowling powerplay after winning the toss and got early wickets too but then Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope took control of the game and forged a colossal 216-run partnership.
Elina Poudel: "The past few years of busy cricket engagements with associate nations have propelled Nepal's cricket to its current level. Now, imagine the potential if we were to have a few more years of cricketing opportunities against test-playing nations."
Bishal Gautam: "Well played boys, hold your head high and let's try to win against Ned to go for Super Six. Let's gain much more experience and leverage that to get a fantastic run of Asia Cup as well." I foresee Nepal becoming a force to reckon with in next few years. They have got the potential, hunger and a talented group of players to cause trouble to the heavyweights
Karan KC c & b Mayers 28 (22m 27b 4x4 1x6) SR: 103.70
Overrate penalty has been applied, one fielder from outside the ring has to come in
Pair finds a way past Nepal's banana peel with a 216-run fourth-wicket stand that came at 7.57
Holder, Joseph, Paul and Hosein ran through Nepal despite a poor fielding display by West Indies
"It's not just about looking for boundaries but looking for scoring opportunities and keeping the strike rotating"