West Indies continue their excellent run of form with a dominating 101-run win over Nepal in their second ICC ODI World Cup Qualifier 2023 match at Harare Sports Club on Thursday, June 22. Captain Shahi Hope and star wicketkeeper batter Nicholas Pooran registered centuries to help West Indies score a big total while batting first. Then all-rounder Jason Holder picked three wickets to bowl out Nepal on just 238 runs to record an easy win.
Shai Hope led by example again after West Indies lost their first three wickets on just 55 runs. He registered a 200-plus stand with Pooran for the fourth wicket as both players smashed centuries to guide West Indies to a total of 339/7. Lalit Rajbanshi took three wickets for 52 for Nepal but it was a disappointing effort from the Asian side at Harare.
Alzarri Joseph gave the Caribbean side a promising start with the early wicket of in-form Kushal Bhurtel. Then Jason Holder ended his poor run of form with three wickets to bowl out Nepal on 238 runs in 49.4 overs. For Nepal, Aarif Sheikh top-scored with 63 runs off 93 balls but he lacked impactful support from his teammates.
This was the 15th ODI hundred for Shai Hope and the second one for Pooran. Hope bagged the Player of the Match award as he also took two catches behind the stumps. He praised Pooran's quick hundred and said that it made his job as an anchor much easier at the other end.
"I believe the rhythm was a bit off. I am just happy that I came good for the team," Shai Hope said during the post-match presentation. "We were put on the backfoot there...happy to get the team over the line today. The key was absorbing as much pressure as possible and then finding a way to transfer that pressure to the back end. Pooran made it a lot easier for me. The aim was to take it as deep as possible and give us the best chance towards the end.
"I don't think I hit the targets where I wanted to but happy to just bat as deep as I possibly could there. The team really needed me. They bowled well, must commend their bowlers, especially their spinners, as they stuck to their task well. We batted well in that period to overcome their spin threat. There's obviously room for improvement, so we need to make sure we are ticking those boxes going into the next game."
In the other World Cup Qualifier game on June 22, Netherlands beat United States of America by 5 wickets. USA are now struggling at the bottom of the Group A table with three defeats while West Indies regained a top spot with two wins in their opening two matches.
