Sharjah, Sep 28 (IANS) Nepal made international T20 history on Saturday by defeating the West Indies by 19 runs in the first match of the three-match T20I series, registering their first win against a full-member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

With their bowlers striking blows at regular intervals against a West Indies side which was without some of its big guns, Nepal surged to a historic 19-run victory. As a result, Nepal took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with the second T20I scheduled for September 29.

In a match played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the West Indies won the toss and elected to field first against the Associate Member team. They restricted Nepal to a modest score of 148/8, which the side from the Himalayas compiled riding on vital contributions by their middle order.

After West Indies pacers Akeal Hosain sent back Kushal Bhurtel (5) and Jason Holder accounted for Aasif Sheikh (3) to reduce Nepal to 12/2 in the fourth over, skipper Rohit Paudel (38 off 35 balls), Kusal Malla (30 from 21), and Gulsan Jha (22 off 16) helped them reach 148/8 despite another late order collapse triggered by leggie Navin Bidaisee, who accounted for Paudel and Malla in successive overs.

For the West Indies, Holder claimed 4-20 while Bidaisee bagged 3-29.

Chasing 149, West Indies lost Kyle Mayers for five runs, run out by Kushal Bhurtel. The West Indies could never get going and lost wickets at regular intervals as Amir Jangoo (19 off 22), Ackeem Auguste (15 off 7), Keacy Carty (16 off 15), and Navin Bidaisee (22 off 25) couldn’t score big.

Despite some lower-order efforts from Fabian Allen (19 off 14) and captain Akeal Hosein (18 off 9), West Indies could manage only 129/9, handing Nepal a memorable 19-run victory.

Brief scores:

Nepal 148/8 in 20 overs (Rohit Paudel 38, Kushal Malla 30, Gulsan Jha 22; Jason Holder 4-20, Navin Badaisee 3-29) beat West Indies 129/9 in 20 overs (Navin Badaisee 22, Amir Jangoo 19; Kushal Bhurtel 2-17) by 19 runs.

–IANS

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