Nepal celebrates historic cricket win over former champions West Indies

Nepal’s historic victory over the West Indies in a T20 international match, the country’s first-ever victory over a Test-playing nation, is being celebrated by cricket fans in Nepal.

In their first three-match T20I series match against the two-time former world champions in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal defeated them by 19 runs on Saturday.

Nepal’s fans wildly cheered their team in the Sharjah Cricket Stadium after the game was over, and the celebrations continued overnight in the South Asian nation.

In their 20 overs, Nepal recorded a competitive total of 148-8, with contributions from middle-order batsman Kushal Malla (30), captain Rohit Paudel (38), and batsman Kushal Malla (30).

The Rhinos then produced a strong bowling and fielding performance to thwart the West Indies, who won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016 with a 2-17 lead over Kushal Bhurtel’s 2-17 overs.

Nepal’s cricketing story has a new chapter written! 📣

West Indies is defeated by Rhinos for our first victory against a full-member nation! pic. twitter.com/98cJlLMAwP

The rising cricketing nation’s victory marks a significant milestone.

The Nepalese Cricket Association president, Chatur Bahadur Chand, described it as a historic victory for us and contributes to raising the profile of our players in the international cricketing community.

TV footage showed Nepalis wearing replica team shirts cheering and waving the national flag.

Pujan Thapa, 27, who watched the game with family and friends on TV in Kathmandu, said, “It was not expected, but as the game progressed, we realized there was a chance we could win.”

“We stood up and danced while we were so happy.”

The victory came as Nepal recovered from bloody anticorruption protests that claimed the lives of at least 72 people and sacked the government.

Paudel hailed the victory as “for the martyrs back home” and said it would be wonderful if “a little bit of happiness” would be provided for those who lost their lives.

Former chief selector Dipendra Chaudhary attributed the team’s dedication to the victory to their hard work.

He added, “It will inspire them to play well and inspire other young cricketers.”

Additionally, congratulations messages were circulated on social media platforms.

Nepal was given the status of a one-day international by the ICC in 2018, which has seen a rise in popularity in the mountainous nation.