Windies ‘A’ suffer defeat at the hands of Nepal

KIRTIPUR, Nepal (CMC):

WEST INDIES ‘A’ suffered a four-wicket defeat despite an energetic 74 from their captain Roston Chase in the first Twenty20 match of their series yesterday.

Chase’s innings was trumped by a dynamic hundred from opposing captain Rohit Paudel.

Chase cracked nine fours and two sixes from 46 balls and was the cornerstone upon which the Caribbean side’s 204 for five was built at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground.

But the visitors had no answer for Paudel, whose 112 off 54 balls, including 10 fours and six sixes, was key to a successful chase for the Nepalese on a flat pitch. Nepal got to the target with two balls to spare and now take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

The new-ball pair of Matthew Forde and left-arm pacer Obed McCoy accounted for the Nepal openers Anil Sah, caught at mid-wicket for five, and Kushal Bhurtel, caught behind for 16 as the home team stumbled to 43 for two at the close of the Power Play.

A throw from Johnson Charles from square leg to wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher to run out Kushal Malla for 16 meant that the Nepalese were 82 for three at the halfway stage, the balance firmly tilted in favour of West Indies ‘A’.

But the Caribbean side came under the hammer from the fearless Paudel, who dominated a 64-run fourth-wicket stand with Dipendra Singh Airee that transformed the complexion of the match.

Paudel would get to the landmark from 47 balls with a deuce through square leg off McCoy in the 18th over.

When Forde got the 21-year-old Nepal captain caught behind, his side needed 13 from 11 balls, and Pratis Gharti Chhetri entered and drove the next ball to long-off for a boundary to put the hosts within reach of the historic win.

Oshane Thomas was entrusted with the final over, with the Nepalese requiring nine to win, but he conceded back-to-back boundaries to Gulshan Jha after only giving away singles off the first two balls to seal the fate of the visitors.

The second match of the series will be played today at the same venue.

Earlier, Chase shared successive half-century stands with Keacy Carty and fellow Barbadian Kadeem Alleyne, after a lively start from left-hander Alick Athanaze that paved the way for the challenging West Indies ‘A’ total.

Put in to bat, the Caribbean side raced to 77 for two at the close of the Power Play, but lost opener Johnson Charles, bowled for a two-ball duck in the first over, and Andre Fletcher, run out for 13 in the fourth.

Athanaze drove the early momentum for West Indies ‘A’ with a brisk 47 before he was caught at fine leg from a top-edged slog-sweep off Paudel’s off-spin in the seventh over, leaving the visitors at 86 for three.

Carty came to the crease, cruised to 38, and consolidated with Chase in a stand of 60 for the fourth wicket before he was caught on the cover boundary, slicing a drive off pacer Abinash Bohara in the 15th over.

Chase reached his 50 from 36 balls when he pulled Bohara over mid-wicket for his fifth boundary in the 17th over. He shared 57 with Alleyne before he was caught at a wide, deep mid-wicket, swinging a full toss from off-spinner Dipendra Singh Airee with two balls remaining in the innings.

The tour to Nepal is a first for any West Indies side and, according to lead selector Desmond Haynes, serves as another phase in preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be staged in June in the Caribbean and the United States.

According to Haynes, the tour is an invaluable opportunity to get World Cup hopefuls and emerging prospects playing competitive T20 matches.