West Indies suffered a humiliating defeat as they were bowled out for just 83, handing Nepal a historic T20 series victory in the United Arab Emirates.

The series win is Nepal’s first against a full member nation, and it came with a game to spare. Ranked 18th in the world, Nepal set a target of 173-6 in 20 overs, highlighted by a 100-run fourth-wicket partnership between Aasif Sheikh and Sundeep Jora, who hit five sixes in Sharjah.

Windies, sixth in the T20 rankings, struggled in reply. Only three batters reached double figures, and they were 63-4 by the 12th over before collapsing to 83 all out. The 90-run margin is the largest ever by an associate nation over a full member, while Windies’ total of 83 is the lowest by a full member against an associate.

The defeat follows a string of recent setbacks for West Indies cricket. In July, their Test team was bowled out for just 27 against Australia, the second-lowest score in Test history and their worst since 1955. 

After losing that series 3-0, Cricket West Indies president Dr Kishore Shallow called an emergency meeting and sought advice from legends Sir Viv Richards, Sir Clive Lloyd, and Brian Lara.

West Indies also failed to qualify for the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and are currently outside the qualifying positions for the 2027 edition.

Nepal, coached by Australian Stuart Law, will compete in qualifiers for the 2026 T20 World Cup next month, having also participated in the 2014 and 2024 tournaments.

The series concludes with the third T20 on Tuesday (15:30 BST). Meanwhile, West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has been ruled out of next month’s two-Test series against India due to a recurring back injury.

Source: BBC

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