West Indies look to top group in contest against Nepal
A confident West Indies will aim to maintain their winning run and cement their position at the top of Group C when they face a struggling Nepal in a T20 World Cup clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. The Caribbean side has won both its matches so far and currently leads the group with the best Net Run Rate (1.625). Another victory would further strengthen its hold on the summit as it eyes qualification with momentum firmly on its side.
With a fixture against Italy in Kolkata to follow, West Indies know that successive wins in these two games will ensure they finish as Group C toppers. However, they cannot afford to lower their guard. Despite Nepal’s underwhelming campaign so far, the Associate nation has shown glimpses of resilience in patches and could look to spring a surprise. West Indies will therefore need to balance confidence with caution, ensuring they avoid complacency and stay focused on the task at hand.
Nepal, who had beaten the West Indies 2-1 last September in a T20I series, are coming off a deflating loss against Italy and will be keen to put their best foot forward. While the West Indies entered this T20 World Cup largely under the radar — partly due to their series defeats to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa in the lead-up — that narrative is quickly changing.
Their performances so far have been authoritative, suggesting a side that has quietly regrouped and rediscovered its rhythm at the right time. The two-time title winners beat Scotland by 35 runs in their tournament opener and crushed England by 30 runs. On both the occasions West Indies have found different players stepping up, which is a mark of a successful side and head coach Daren Sammy would be pleased given how the team has started to come together.
Shimron Hetmyer’s aggression at No. 3 is backed by the dependable Roston Chase’s presence at No. 4, while the West Indies also have the dangerous Sherfane Rutherford, who made the difference with the bat against England. The West Indies, however, would hope their seamers find ways to succeed on the Wankhede pitches, which have assisted spinners in the four matches played here.
Nepal, on the other hand, face the challenge of putting their crushing 10-wicket defeat to Italy behind them and regaining composure ahead of a crucial outing. While the road ahead looks bleak for the Himalayan nation in their quest to make the Super Eight — having lost both their matches — there is still a lot to fight for. The fact that Nepal have not recorded a win in the T20 World Cup since 2014 — something which they came agonisingly close to against England — would motivate their players who had a collective day off in their last outing.
Nepal’s batters lacked resolve when the Italian bowlers dried up their runs with accurate display of spin bowling, and when it was their turn to bowl on the same track, the Rhinos made some questionable decisions. Their best spinner was held back for the first five overs in a low-scoring game against Italy, who had crossed the 50-run mark by the time Sandeep Lamichhane came onto bowl. With the batters carrying much of the responsibility in their previous outing against England, it is now Nepal’s bowlers who must step up with sharper planning and tighter execution.
