Nepal bagged a thrilling win against West Indies A in the fifth and final T20 match of the series. Nepal registered an exciting six-wicket win while chasing the target of 173 runs. West Indies A, however, won the series 3-2.
Nepal once again lost Kushal Bhurtel early in the chase. He was dismissed for 13 by Obed McCoy in the second over. Aasif Sheikh and Anil Sah then shared 96 runs for the second wicket. Sheikh completed his half-century and walked back for 35-ball 51 (two fours and five sixes) in the 14th over.
Anil also played long and completed his half-century. He top-scored with 58 runs from 45 balls (four boundaries and equal sixes) before being dismissed in the 17th over. Nepal needed 22 runs from the last two overs and Kushal Malla did that with one ball spare. He started with a six in the penultimate over and then followed with four boundaries.
He remained unbeaten for 18-ball 37 as Nepal chased the target in 18.5 overs, losing four wickets.
Earlier in the first inning, West Indies A posted 172/7 in the allotted 20 overs after opting to bat first.
West Indies A started fiercely, however, Sagar Dhakal dismissed Kadeem Alleyne (11) in the second over to provide a first breakthrough. Dhakal himself picked up two wickets in the eighth over to put Nepal in the driving seat. He sent back Johnson Charles (24) and Mark Deyal (11) as Windies A were 60/3 in the eighth over.
Roston Chase and Alick Athanaze then shared 44 runs for the fourth before Abinash Bohara got rid of Chase for 33. Matthew Forde played a good cameo of 12-ball 23 and was the fifth man to be dismissed. Sompal Kami bowled a brilliant penultimate over. He gave away just three runs and picked a wicket of Fabian Allen and Gudakesh Motie. Alick Athanaze anchored the inning and top scored with 29-ball 42 runs. Windies A collected 16 runs from the last over.
For Nepal, Sompal Kami and Sagar Dhakal got three wickets each. Sompal bowled all four overs and ended with a figure of 4-0-16-3 whereas Sagar bagged a figure of 2-0-17-3. Abinash Bohara bagged one wicket (4-0-49-1). Kushal Bhurtel (4-0-25-0) did well whereas DS Airee was expensive (3-0-39-3).
