Mumbai, Feb 15 (.) Jason Holder starred with the ball before the batsmen finished clinically as the West Indies cricket team thrashed the Nepal national cricket team by nine wickets in the 25th Match, Group C of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.
Holder’s influence was felt at decisive moments as he claimed 4 for 27 to halt Nepal’s late surge and restrict them to 133 for 8.
After Akeal Hosein bowled Kushal Bhurtel with one that cut back to hit middle stump and Matthew Forde trapped Rohit Paudel lbw, Holder struck immediately on arrival.
Aasif Sheikh flicked a delivery drifting down the pads straight to fine leg where Shimron Hetmyer completed a simple catch. Holder then removed Aarif Sheikh, who miscued a full ball on middle and offered a leading edge that Matthew Forde settled under at mid-wicket.
Nepal were wobbling, but Dipendra Singh Airee mounted a counterattack. He rocked back to cut boundaries, used his feet to loft Gudakesh Motie for the first six of the innings and later upper-cut Shamar Joseph to bring up a fighting half-century to applause from the crowd. He smashed Joseph for a towering six over mid-wicket and another powerful blow over long-off as 18 runs came off the 19th over.
Holder returned to break the resistance. In the 19th over, bowling full on leg stump from round the wicket, he induced Dipendra into a mistimed loft towards long-on where Rovman Powell pouched a simple catch, ending a brilliant 58.
In the final over, after a high full toss to Karan KC resulted in a single — with Nepal losing a review for height — Holder finished the innings in style. Angling a full delivery across Karan, he forced a sliced loft to long-off where Matthew Forde held a good catch, sealing Holder’s four-wicket haul.
Chasing 134, West Indies began briskly. Brandon King got off the mark with a boundary off the first ball and followed it with crisp cuts and lofted drives off Sompal Kami. Shai Hope joined the charge with a straight drive off Karan KC and a fierce cut off Sompal. King’s cameo ended on 22 when he miscued Nandan Yadav to mid-on.
Hope then took control. He swivel-pulled Nandan fine for four and lofted Dipendra Singh Airee wide of long-on. Kushal Bhurtel’s short ball was dispatched high over deep mid-wicket for six, while a mishandled effort at long-on turned a single into four.
Shimron Hetmyer provided fireworks at the other end, smashing Nandan for a massive six over deep square-leg and launching Sandeep Lamichhane’s googly straight back over long-on. A thick edge off Lamichhane ran through the vacant slip region for four as Nepal’s fielding frustrations grew.
Hope brought up his fifty in style, stepping out to loft Lamichhane over long-on for six. Soon after, he hammered another tossed-up delivery straight towards the sightscreen, leaving just a hit to finish the chase.
West Indies reached 134 for 1 in 15.2 overs, with Hope unbeaten on 61 and Hetmyer on 46, their unbroken 91-run stand sealing a dominant victory.
While the chase was emphatic, it was Holder’s calm execution at the death — removing the dangerous Dipendra and closing out the innings with precision — that ensured West Indies were always in control.
Brief scores:
Nepal 133/8 in 20 overs (Dipendra Singh Airee 58; Jason Holder 4/27) lost to West Indies 134/1 in 15.2 overs (Shai Hope 61 not out, Shimron Hetmyer 46 not out) by nine wickets.
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