Nepal carved out a piece of history in Sharjah, securing their first-ever victory on Saturday against a full member side, defeating two-time T20 World Champions West Indies by 19 runs. This remarkable achievement was the result of a complete team effort.

Nepal achieved this incredible feat despite losing the toss and being asked to bat first. Nepal lost two early wickets and looked to be in a spot of bother at 12-2 until captain stepped up. Rohit Paudel scored 38 runs showing incredible grit and forging a partnership worth 58 runs with Kushal Malla (30) removing Nepal from a dire position. 

Jason Holder's incredible efforts with the ball amounted to 4-20 as Nepal scored a fighting 148-8 at the end of their 20 overs.

Nepal gave everything on the field, they made the West Indies work for every run and restricted them to 129-9. Barring a spell of two balls in the 18th over where the Nepal fielders dropped West Indies skipper Akeal Hosein twice the fielding was flawless. Their prowess in the field was underlined by six catches and two run-outs, which did not allow the West Indies to form any major partnerships. 

Kushal Bhurtel was the pick of the bowlers with 2-17 in four overs, taking the crucial wicket of Holder and putting the pressure on with his economical bowling.

This victory is another example of the rise of Associate Nations in global cricket. This victory marks a significant milestone for Associate Nations after Italy qualified to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. 

Nepal will take great confidence from this match into the remainder of the series against the West Indies which is followed by the 2025 Men’s T20 World Cup Asia-EAP regional finals in Oman between 8 to 17 October.