West Indies has set a target of 340 runs against Nepal in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 match. Despite a fumbling start Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran scored a century each to help their side post 339/7 in 50 overs.
Invited to bat first at Harare Sports Club, Windies had a frightening start after losing two quick wickets. Kyle Mayers (1) and Johnson Charles (0) were dismissed by Karan Kc and Gulshan Jha, respectively, as they were nine for two in the fifth over.
Lamichhane picked up the first wicket of the tournament in the form of Brandon King (32), with the men in Maroon three down for 55 in the 16th over. Skipper Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran then shared the match turning 216 runs partnership for the fourth wicket, with both batters scoring a ton.
Pooran capitalized on a dropped catch (on 3 and 54) and completed his second ODI ton. He scored 94-ball 115 with ten fours and four sixes before Dipendra Singh Airee dismissed him with a brilliant one-handed catch. Rovman Powell smacked 14-ball 29, whereas Jason Holder contributed an unbeaten 10-ball 16.
Meanwhile, skipper Hope was dismissed by Rajbasnhi in the final over after scoring 132 runs from 129 balls. He hammered ten fours and three sixes.
For Nepal, Lalit Rajbanshi picked up three wickets, whereas Karan KC, Gulshan Jha and Sandeep Lamichhane had one wicket each.
