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CENTURIES from Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran fired the West Indies to a second successive victory at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 at the Harare Sports Club yesterday.
Put in to bat first by Nepal, the Windies responded to a sticky start with a mammoth 216-run stand between Hope and Pooran to set their opponents 340 to win.
Nepal were then bowled out for 228 runs in 49.4 overs as the Windies boosted their net run rate with a 101-run victory.
The victory comes ahead of the much-anticipated clash with hosts Zimbabwe at the same venue tomorrow. Both teams have clean records after winning the opening two games apiece in Group A.
Zimbabwe beat minnows Nepal and the Netherlands to get four points.
Two of the West Indies’ most high-profile batters — Hope and Pooran — yesterday stepped up to see them to a convincing win over Nepal after overcoming some early setbacks.
Kyle Mayers (1) and Johnson Charles (0) fell early as the Windies found themselves in a hole after being put into bat.
And when Brandon King (32) was bowled by Sandeep Lamichhane, they were 55 for three with Pooran joining his captain at the crease.
The pair then proceeded to cut loose, Pooran smashing four sixes and 10 fours on his way to a magnificent 115 from 94 balls.
By the time he departed courtesy of Dipendra Singh Airee, who took a stunning return catch, the Windies were on their way to a huge total, sitting on 271 for four with six overs remaining.
Hope kept going, ably supported by Rovman Powell’s 14-ball 29 and an unbeaten 16 from Jason Holder.
The captain eventually fell for 132, caught in the deep in the final over as the Windies finished on 339 for seven.
This tournament has seen a number of successful chases of big totals, but Nepal’s cause was not helped by the loss of early wickets, Alzarri Joseph removing Kushal Bhurtel for five in the second over.
Bhim Sharki, who batted brilliantly against the USA, followed for five at the hands of Holder (3/34) to leave Nepal 23 for two and in trouble.
They tried to rebuild through Aasif Sheikh (28) and skipper Rohit Paudel (30) but wickets came at regular intervals to prevent any real momentum building.
Aarif Sheikh (63) provided the most resistance, but needed 93 deliveries for his knock as he watched partner after partner depart. The pick of the partnerships came with Gulsan Jha (42), the duo adding 68 for the seventh wicket.
Aarif Sheikh was the penultimate man to go, with four overs remaining, and while the last pair managed to take it to the final over, Karan KC’s entertaining 28 off 27 deliveries was brought to an end with two balls still remaining as the Windies wrapped up a second win in as many games.
West Indies beat Nepal at Harare Sports Club, Harare by 101 runs
West Indies 339/7 50 overs (Shai Hope 132, Nicholas Pooran 115; Lalit Rajbanshi 3/52, Dipendra Singh Airee 1/45)
Nepal 238 all out in 49.4 overs (Aarif Sheikh 63, Gulsan Jha 42; Jason Holder 3/34, Alzarri Joseph 2/45) — ICC / Sports Reporter
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