Nepal lost to the West Indies by 43 runs in the Twenty20 World Cup for the Blind but impressed with the bat in their fourth match of the tournament at the MIG Cricket Club grounds in Bandra, India on Saturday.

Electing to field first, West Indies piled up a mammoth 208-7 in 20 overs as Nepal conceded their biggest total in the ongoing tournament. Nepal replied with 165-3 with Sunil Thapa Magar once again getting amongst the runs.

Nepal lost opener Padam Badela (11) in the third over and Sunil Subedi Chhetri (three) in the fifth to get reduced to 33-2. Thapa Magar then steadied the ship with a 37-run partnership with Sunil Rana Magar for the fourth wicket before the latter departed.

Rana Magar made 26-ball 25 with one boundary. Thapa Magar then got involved in a huge 95-run unbroken partnership with Lok Bahadur Thapa as Nepal posted their highest total in the tournament. Thapa scored a 29-ball 36 with three boundaries.

Thapa Magar was unbeaten on 70 off 50 balls with 10 hits to the fence. The No 4 batsman went on to post Nepal’s highest individual total in the current event.

West Indies rode on crucial contribution from their top three batsmen, particularly opener Kevin Douglas, to post a huge total. Douglas opened the innings with a 52-run partnership for the first wicket with Leroy Philips (23).

Douglas added another 91 runs for the second wicket with Caneel Graham as

West Indies inched towards a big score. Douglas was dismissed in the 18th over after making 96 off 59 balls with 10 boundaries.

Nepal coach Rijan Prajoo said a poor fielding cost them the game. “The boys were not up to their mark in fielding. I think we conceded 30 extra runs otherwise we could have won this game. But the way how we bowled and batted was brilliant,” said Prajoo.

Nepal will next play Sri Lanka in their sixth match at the Pune PYC grounds on Sunday. The only non-Test playing team to compete in the tournament, Nepal, will also meet India, England and New Zealand. Nepal are making their second appearance in the tournament having previously played the tournament in 2012.

Summary

West Indies 208-7 in 20 overs (K Douglas 96, C Graham 27; P Badella 1-23, ST Magar (1-34) beat Nepal 165-3 in 20 overs (ST Magar 70 not out, LB Thapa 36 not out; A Cummins 1-14, GM Singh 1-36) by 43 runs