Nepal captain Rohit Paudel praised the protestors who lost their lives during the recent revolution as he led Nepal to a historic 19-run victory over the West Indies in a T20I match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on September 27. This win marked Nepal’s first-ever victory against a Test-playing nation in international cricket. After the match, Paudel dedicated his ‘Player of the Match’ award to the martyrs who participated in the protests back home.
“Want to dedicate this award to the martyrs back home who participated in the protest,” Paudel said during the post-match presentation. “The last month has not been great for us, so if we can give a little bit of happiness to the people of Nepal, I think that would be great. It’s just the beginning, a lot more to come,” he added.
Paudel contributed 38 runs from 35 balls, including three fours and a six. Nepal posted a total of 148/8 after being put to bat first by Akeal Hosein. Paudel also impressed with the ball, conceding just 20 runs in three overs and taking the wicket of Jewel Andrew.
The captain believed a par score at the venue ranged between 150-160 runs, and he expressed pride in Nepal’s performance against the two-time T20 World Cup champions. “It’s feeling great, a long wait to beat a Test-playing country, that too in a series we have hosted in the UAE. 150-160 was par here, looking at the previous series here, teams were winning after scoring 150-160,” Paudel said. “80-90 per cent, we have matched our skills, the spinners were great today, as well as the experienced Karan and Sompal,” the 23-year-old added.
For the West Indies, captain Akeal Hosein blamed two run outs that changed the complexion of the game. “Thought it was a decent score, good pitch, maybe we gave away 15 runs too much. Having said that, we were very confident in chasing this down. They fielded well and they got two run-outs and those things break the back of a batting team,” Hosein commented after his debut in T20I captaincy. West Indies will have an opportunity to level the series in the second match scheduled on September 29 at the same venue.
