T20 World Cup 2026: West Indies vs Nepal Highlights, Match 25- Stats, Player of the Match & More

Match Overview

West Indies and Nepal faced off in Match 25 of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Winning the toss, West Indies skipper Shai Hope opted to field.

West Indies bowlers vindicated Hope's decision as they were on the money from the onset, with Nepal collapsing to 23 for 4. Nepal were rocked early as Akeal Hosein cleaned up opener Kushal Bhurtel in the opening over before Matthew Forde and Jason Holder struck in succession to see the back of skipper Rohit Paudel and wicketkeeper-batter Aasif Sheikh.

Dipendra Singh Airee waged a lone battle, striking 58 off 47 with three fours and sixes apiece, but his search for some meaningful support continued until Sompal Kami joined him in the middle, with Nepal 73 for 6 in the 15th over after Lokesh Bam (13 off 15) and Gulshan Jha's (11 off 14) departure. Airee and Kami counterattacked in their 26-ball 54-run partnership to take Nepal to a respectable 133 for 8. Kami stood unbeaten on 26 off 15 with four boundaries. Holder was the pick of the bowlers, returning with figures of 4 for 27, while Hosein, Forde, Shamar Joseph and Roston Chase chipped in with one each.

Chasing a below-par total, West Indies made a positive start with the bat as their openers, Brandon King and skipper Hope, added 43 runs before the former was sent back by Nandan Yadav for 22 off 17. As fate would have it, that was the only wicket Nepal would manage as Hope and Shimron Hetmyer knocked the remainder of the target by themselves.

Hope hit five fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 44-ball 61, which was the highlight of the innings as he became only the second West Indies captain after Chris Gayle to notch up a half-century in T20 World Cup history. Hetmyer, meanwhile, stood unbeaten on 46 off 32, including four fours and two sixes, taking West Indies to a nine-wicket win with 4.4 overs to spare. With that, West Indies have also become the first team to book a Super 8 berth in the 20-team tournament. 

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the match

Jason Holder

What the captains said 

Winning Team Captain, Shai Hope (West Indies)

"(On progressing to the Super Eights) Very pleasing, this is what we set out to do from the time we got here. That's the one step, one hurdle that we crossed, now on to the next stage.

"(On the bowling performance today) Firstly I'm glad that I actually got the opportunity to decide what I wanted to do first. Yeah, the guys put the ball in the right areas. It's something that Matthew (Forde) has been doing very well, especially at the start of the innings and putting them under pressure for the entire time. It was difficult work for them in the powerplay and then throughout the innings, just about trying to limit the flow of runs and keep picking up wickets. We didn't pick up as many wickets as we wanted in the back end, but very happy with the bowlers today.

"(Why so pleasing to win the toss?) Like I said at the toss, the surface had a bit of moisture in it. I just felt that we could have exploited it a bit better rather than bowling second. It's something I've been struggling with, the last couple of series, I didn't win a toss. I don't think I've won a toss in the last six months, who knows. But yeah, it's just nice to get out there and actually decide what I wanted to do this time.

"(On his batting) Yes, again, good to contribute. I wouldn't say I was running out of form, but it's nice to contribute to wins. Yes, it's crunch time now, back into the group stages and then into the Super Eights. That's where you really want to be firing as a batter. So, happy to get some runs on the board.

"(How will WI approach the final group stage match?) Just about continuing the brand of cricket we want to play and ensuring that we are hitting our straps. Focusing on the little details that we tend to neglect every now and again. Just about continuing the way we've been playing. We've been playing really good cricket with the last couple of games and series. Just we'll bring it together and hope we can carry it all the way through to the back end of the tournament.

"(On Forde) Yeah, you must give him credit. Credit always where it's due. He's been hitting his areas, making it very difficult for batters at the top of the innings. He's not express pace, but he makes it very difficult for them. He moves the ball just enough and that's what you need, especially in this phase of the game where it doesn't really swing as much. He really exploited as much of that movement as he possibly can. Happy to see him going well and it's great to see the bowlers firing along with the batters. So, complete cricket for us this time."

Losing Team Captain, Rohit Paudel (Nepal)

"Yeah, it was a challenge, especially the way Forde and Akeal and Jason  were bowling in the powerplay. I think they were using the conditions really well. And it was a challenge, but I think as a batting unit, we again failed. So as a batting unit, we need to step up, I think.

"(Learnings after two below-par batting performances) I think we are missing on the batting partnerships. We are lacking on that. Especially, we are getting the partnerships of 20-30s, but we are not stretching it. And as a batsman, I think, whoever is getting 20-30s, we are not converting it into the big ones. So I think that are the areas where as a batting unit, we need to step up.

"(On Dipendra Singh Airee's half-century) I think he took his time and he played really well. Especially at the end of the innings, he accelerated his innings. But eventually, in the start of the innings, the wicket was very difficult, but still he managed to wait for his time and when he got his opportunity, he cashed in. So I think from him, we need to learn that.

"(How do you isolate your team from the outside noise?) I think keeping outside noise outside is very important. If you keep listening to outside noise, it will be hard for all the players to perform in the next match. So we are keeping it outside and when the team is losing, it is very important to keep everyone very positive and we are trying to do that."