T20 World Cup: West Indies become 1st team to qualify for Super 8s after easy win vs Nepal

A spotless game for the West Indies. Shai Hopes gets runs. Brandon King looked good. Hetmyer continued his rich vein of form and WI's incredible record at the Wankhede Stadium stays. Jason Holder has been adjudged as the Player of the Match.

An easy win for the West Indies as Shai Hope remains unbeaten at 61, completing 1500 T20I runs in the process as well. They have chased 134 runs in just 15.2 overs, qualifying for the Super 8s despite having a game in hand.

To win their third match on the row and confirm their qualification for the Suepr 8s, West Indies need to make just 55 more runs in the remaining 10 overs. They have 9 wickets in hand as well. A relaxed situation for the Men in Maroon. Can Nepal take some wickets to create some trouble for the Windies?

The West Indies have bossed both the powerplays (with bat and ball). In the 134-run chase, they were 40/0 after the 5 overs. However, they lost Brandon King in the last over of the PP, with Nandan Yadav ending King's stay at 22. Shimron Hetmyer has joined Shai Hope (17) at the crease. 

Pure class from Shai Hope! ✨

A confident start with the bat for the West Indies 🙌

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Brandon King and Shai Hope are in as the Windies start their run-chase. Fascinatingly, the West Indies will become the first ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 team to qualify for the Super 8s if they claim 134 runs that they need today. King starts the chase with a 4 off the first ball. Nepal desperately need wickets. They themselves lost 4 in 6.3 overs.

Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, Nepal have crawled their way through to 133 at the Wankhede Stadium against the West Indies. It is not a strong total but now the bowlers have something to bowl for. The sole reason for Nepal not to get bundled under 100 is Dipendra Singh Airee, who has become only the 2nd Nepal player to hit a Men's T20 World Cup fifty, smashing 58 off 47.

Dipendra Singh Airee smashed a boundary off Shamar Joseph's overpitched delivery, bringing up useful runs. Airee brought his bottom hand into play to smack it past mid off. Earlier, Sompal Kami also hit a four and took a single off Joseph's bowling. 

NEP: 98/6 in 17.3 overs. 

Nepal's in big, big trouble!

Lokesh Bam's out, caught behind off Shamar Joseph's sharp delivery. He had a bit of a flash earlier, slashing a four wide outside off, but this time it didn't go his way. He's gone for 13, and Nepal's losing steam at 10.4 overs.

NEP: 54/5 in 12 overs

The West Indies are absolutely on top here. Superb powerplay for the Windies as they take the third wicket. Rohit Paudel, Bhurtel and now Aasif Sheikh are all back in the dugout. Jason Holder picks the third wicket. A soft dismissal as Sheikh whacks one straight to fine leg, where Shimron Hetmyer plucks an easy catch. 

NEP: 34/4 in 9.1 overs

Akeal Hosein strikes! Kushal Bhurtel goes 

An armer of sorts from Hosein and it gets Bhurtel rattles, who fails to adjust to the incoming line and the Windies camp is pumped. Superb start for the two-time champions. The ball skidded through and the batter remained on the backfoot, leading to his downfall. Captain Rohit Paudel is the new batter in as Matthew Forde comes to bowl from the other end. 

NEP: 7/1 after 2 over. 

Players are now heading to the ground, as the national anthem time has come. The Wankhede Stadium ins't empty and the seats are likely to be filled in a few more minutes as well.

Both Nepal and the West Indies have made one change each. 

West Indies Playing XI: Brandon King, Shai Hope (w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph

Nepal Playing XI: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (w), Rohit Paudel (c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Lokesh Bam, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane

Shai Hope at toss: 🗣️

"Good morning, we're going to bowl first this time. Look a little bit of moisture in the surface, probably a little bit more damp than we expected , so try to utilize as much as we can. (How to keep the same intensity?) You just said it, we just need to do the same thing. It's important for us to ensure that we cover all our bases. We understand the threat that they can pose. So it's important that we just focus on our processes and hit all the straps that we can. Yes, one change. Shepherd out, Matthew Forde comes in. Slight little niggle, Shepherd's been struggling a little bit, but we just want to make sure precautionary measures are being in place and Forde can come in and do the job. So we're very happy to give him some rest today."