AI Simulation, NEP vs WI | Mayers and McCoy help Windies level series 1-1 in Sharjah

‌Pitch and Weather

It was a typical dry surface at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, but there were barely any demons on the surface as batters scored their runs freely in the middle overs. The dew factor in the second innings made it even tougher for the bowlers to grip the ball and made batting easier.

The weather in Sharjah remained clear with the recorded temperature ranging from 30-36 degrees Celsius. 

Toss

West Indies won the toss and chose to bat first.

Lineups

Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Rohit Paudel (c), Sundeep Jora, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Karan KC, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Lalit Rajbanshi.

West Indies: Kyle Mayers, Ackeem Auguste, Keacy Carty, Amir Jangoo (wk), Karima Gore, Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Akeal Hosein (c), Navin Bidaisee, Obed McCoy, Shamar Springer.

Match Report

West Indies won the toss and decided to bat first in the do-or-die game in Sharjah. Though the Caribbean Giants suffered an early blow as Karan KC dismissed Aamir Jangoo with a wonderful inswinging yorker in the first over, Kyle Mayers and Ackeem Auguste ensured they made up for the terrible start and finished the power play on a score of 52/1. The two put on 63 runs for the second wicket until Auguste threw his wicket away in the eighth over after getting dismissed LBW by Lalit Rajbhanshi on 32. Despite the minor hiccup, the Windies continued to accumulate runs as Keacy Carty gave the needed support to Kayle Mayers, who continued to score his runs freely. The left-hander brought up his half-century in 28 balls during the 11th over. With both batters looking good at the crease, Windies were in a comfortable position at 108/2. With both batters cruising along, a big score was on the cards until Mayers' innings of 54 off 34 finally came to an end in the 13th over after giving a simple caught and bowled chance to Dipender Singh Airee. Though this dismissal might have come against the run of play, Carty continued the run flow and took the West Indies score to 150/3 after 16 overs. However, Nepal gave themselves a chance in the game as Carty was deceived by a straighter one by Rajbhanshi, which crashed into his off stump on 41, and Karim Gore’s off stump was uprooted by Karan in the 18th over. Nepal had a chance of restricting West Indies to a score under 170, but Jason Holder and Fabian Allen’s cameos ensured the team got to a competitive score of 184/6 in the end.

The dew factor in the second innings played a massive role in the game as Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh started scoring runs at a brisk rate and finished the power play on a score of 50/0. The partnership continued to grow after the power play, with Bhurtel scoring his runs freely at one end and Sheikh playing the anchor role. The partnership of 65 started to look dangerous until Akeal Hosein finally got the first breakthrough in the eighth over as Sheikh was caught plumb in front of his stumps on a score of 27. After the opening stand was broken, the Windies bowlers came back as Bhurtel started to run out of partners as Kushal Malla and Sundeep Jora were dismissed cheaply. While Malla became the West Indian skipper’s second victim by hitting the ball straight down long on’s throat, Jora’s stumps were rattled by Navin Bidiase in 10th over. As wickets continued to fall in quick succession, Bhurtel also succumbed under pressure as he was dismissed in the 11th over by Jason Holder on a score of 43 off 29. With this, Nepal’s score suddenly slumped from 65/0 to 77/4 with nine overs to go. While it seemed like the game was in West Indies' grasp, Rohit Paudel and Airee kept the chase alive with a crucial fifth-wicket partnership. While Airee took the attack to the West Indian bowlers. Rohit Paudel rotated the strike smartly at the other end. The two batters put on 57 runs for the fifth wicket, to take the score to 134/4 after 15 overs, needing 52 off the next 30 deliveries. However, there was another twist in the story as Obed McCoy managed to dismiss the Nepal skipper and Airee in the 16th over. As Paudel was deceived by a slower bouncer, which ended up in the hands of deep square leg, Airee’s stumps were sent flying by a straight and full delivery. Though a 22-run cameo from Gulshan Jha managed to keep the gam alive, his quickfire knock was ended by Holder in the 18th over after edging it through to Jangoo behind the stumps. Though the equation was still 27 off the 12, it proved to be too much for the tail as Karan and Sompal Kami could only manage 7 off the 19th over by Shamar Springer and McCoy only conceded three runs and a wicket of Kami in the 20th to ensure West Indies kept the series alive with 16-run win.

Player of the match

Kyle Mayers was awarded the player of the match for his incredible half-century at the top. 

Scorecard