World Cup Qualifiers: Hope, Pooran star as WI crush Nepal

Centuries by skipper Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran and great spells by Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein helped an all-round West Indies clinch a 101-run win over Nepal in their ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 match at Harare on Thursday.

With this win, WI is at the top of the Group A table with two wins in two matches. On the other hand, Nepal is at the fourth position with one win and two losses, which is a total of two points. West Indies were at the top of their game in the batting and bowling department.

West Indies were poor in the field but still managed to get two Nepal wickets in the first powerplay. Kushal Bhurtel was cleaned up by Alzarri Joseph for five, whereas Bhim Sarki scored only two before being caught behind off the bowling of Jason Holder. Nepal's chances dropped even further after Aasif Sheikh (28) fell to a loose stroke in the 12th over. Nepal slipped to 48/3 at that point.

Over the next few overs, the sub-continental side looked to preserve wickets in order to rebuild their innings.

But this effort received a setback when Holder bounced out skipper Rohit Paudel for 30. Akeal Hosein joined in on the fun when he got the wicket of Kushal Malla courtesy a brilliant catch in the deep by substitute, Keacy Carter.

In the second half, Nepal went into defensive mode soon after Dipendra Airee (23) fell to Hosein in the 28th over. Aarif Sheikh (63) and Gulsan Jha (42) stayed at the wicket but added merely 68 runs from 94 balls. In the final powerplay, West Indies managed to run through the Nepal lower-order. Jason Holder (3/34), Alzarri Joseph (2/44), Akeal Hossein (2/49), and Keemo Paul (2/63) were the chief wicket takers. Nepal was bundled out for 238 in 49.4 overs.

Earlier, a massive 216-run stand for the fourth wicket between Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran helped West Indies overcome early hiccups and the side reached a total in excess of 300.

West Indies had a nightmarish start to their innings, losing Kyle Mayers (1) and Johnson Charles (0) in the first five overs. Probing new-ball spells from Nepal bowlers was backed by sharp work in the field as West Indies batters struggled for runs in the initial overs. The batting side was 30/2 at the end of the first powerplay.

Gradually, Brandon King and Shai Hope grew in confidence and improved their scoring rate. But just when they had started taking off, King fell to Sandeep Lamichhane in the 15th over for 32. This was the leg-spinner's first wicket of the tournament. Nepal very nearly had their fourth wicket when Nicholas Pooran edged a Lalit Rajbanshi delivery behind the wicket, but the keeper failed to hold on.

This drop proved to be costly as Hope and Pooran unleashed a series of exquisite shots to bring West Indies back into the game.

The set batters made Nepal pay for even the smallest of errors and went about piling quick runs. They added almost 100 runs between the 26-37 over mark. Both the batters brought up their centuries in the 40th over. This was the 15th ODI hundred for Hope, whereas it was the second ODI century for Pooran.

Nepal finally got a breakthrough when Dipendra Airee pulled off a brilliant catch off his own bowling to end Pooran's knock at 115 in 94 balls. It consisted of 10 fours and four sixes. Their stand of 216 was the second-best fourth-wicket partnership for West Indies in ODIs.

Pooran's fall brought little relief to the bowling side, as the West Indies continued wreaking havoc on the pitch. Hope's (132 in 129 balls with 10 fours and three sixes) brilliant hundred came to an end in the final over.