West Indies hit new low ahead of T20 World Cup 2026, suffer embarrassing defeat to Nepal in first T20I

In their first T20I series against a full-member nation, Nepal have stunned West Indies at the Sharjah Cricket Ground. They didn’t steal the show with the bat or bowl, but West Indies’ shambolic performance helped the team pull off a historic win. With the bat, Nepal posted a modest total of 148 runs, but that too was achieved after immense hard work in the middle.

They lost two wickets for 12 runs, but since then, Rohit Paudel and Kushal Malla managed to take control of the game and kept the scoreboard ticking. They stitched a partnership of 58 runs, which helped Nepal get some momentum. Captain Paudel made 38 runs in the middle, while Malla scored 30. Batting at number five, Gulshan Jha scored an important 22 runs, and it was this phase that helped Nepal pull off the win.

With the ball, Jason Holder clinched four wickets, while Navin Bidaisee picked up three wickets. Captain Akeal Hosein once again proved economical.

When it came to the chase, West Indies were all over the place. Several of their senior cricketers, including Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, and Romario Shepherd, among others, were handed a break to manage workload, while Shimron Hetmyer refused to travel for the series. Amid such a scenario, the likes of Ackeem Auguste, Jewel Andrew and Keacy Carty had the perfect opportunity to prove a point, but they failed to get going.

Wickets fell at regular intervals for West Indies as Nepal won the match by 19 runs. Kushal Bhurtel was the star among Nepal bowlers, as he picked up two wickets for 17 runs in his four overs. Meanwhile, the defeat will hurt West Indies as they build up for the T20 World Cup in less than six months’ time. 

Head coach Daren Sammy has been very vocal about how he wants the standard to improve, but it looks like the players are in no mood to get better and produce positive results in international cricket.

Brief Scores: Nepal 148/8 in 20 overs (Rohit Paudel 38, Kushal Malla 30; Jason Holder 4-20, Navian Bidaisee 3-29) beat West Indies 129/9 in 20 overs (Navian Bidaisee 22, Fabian Allen 19; Kushal Bhurtel 2-17, Lalit Rajbanshi 1-6) by 19 runs