As fans clad in red and blue danced in the Sharjah aisles, the result was a foregone conclusion: Zishan Morata was the last man out, caught in the deep by Karan KC, and West Indies had been bundled out for 83. Three days ago, Nepal had never played a T20I series against a Full Member nation. Now, they had sealed it 2-0, with one match to spare.

West Indies struggled to move beyond single-digits in the powerplay. Only thanks to a boundary in the sixth over did they reach 16 for 2. By then,Dipendra Singh Airee had scalped the first wicket when he bowled Jewel Andrew (2), while Kushal Bhurtel had taken a stunning catch at cover to send back Keacy Carty (1).

Nepal’s vice grip over the scoring rate was the result of their slower balls and full deliveries in the blockhole, with their quicks often marrying the two to great effect. An inexperienced West Indies unit kept mistiming their shots on a pitch where none of their batters, barring Jason Holder’s 15-ball 21, played with any degree of comfort.Eighty three all out represents the former T20 World Champions’ sixth-lowest total. The 90-run defeat is their joint fourth biggest by runs.

Medium pacer Mohanned Aadil Alam – who ended with figures of 4 for 24 – was the next bowler to get on the scorecard, thanks to the biggest point of difference between the two sides: Nepal’s fielding. Nineteen-year-old Gulsan Jha’s diving catch at sweeper cover in the eighth over bettered their previous effort, and sent Kyle Mayers back after a sluggish 6 off 16 balls.

The going never got better for West Indies, as they kept losing wickets in the middle overs and found gaps in the field plugged by a Nepal team who threw themselves at the ball. Alam sent back Ackeem Auguste (17) and Amir Jangoo (16) in back-to-back overs. By then, West Indies had slipped to 63 for 5 and the required rate had leaped to above 13.

Bhurtel added to his contributions in the field with a three-for that swept up the tail. Holder – the last nominal hope for West Indies – fell to Lalit Rajbanshi in the 17th over, when Jha took his second screamer of the day. Soon after, Bhurtel came back to toss up a legbreak and fount it caught on the outfield once again. This was a day when West Indies kept finding fielders at the rope instead of clearing them.

Earlier in the day, Nepal’s own innings had been one of two distinct halves: in the first ten, they did not hit a single six, but opener Aasif Sheikh had established a burgeoning partnership with  Sundeep Jora, and a productive powerplay had taken them to 74 for 3 at the midway point of the innings.

In the next ten, the pair raced away and put on what would end up being a 100-run partnership. Jora’s 39-ball 63 eventually ended in the 18th over. He had hit five of the nine sixes Nepal hit in the second half of the innings.

Sheikh remained unbeaten on 68 off 47 himself. At the other end, Alam’s 5-ball 11 took Nepal’s total to 173. Alam was playing his first match for Nepal after more than three years, having last appeared for them in August 2022. His cameo would become a footnote to his starring role in the second innings.

It would also overshadow the efforts of West Indies’ best bowler on the day – their captain Akeal Hosein – who took 2 for 21 and had reduced Nepal to 14 for 2 in the fourth over. However, any hopes of a rally after their loss in the first T20I were soon left far behind, as his team slipped to 83 all out – the lowest total by a Full Member team against an Associate nation – as well as a 90-run loss – the biggest margin by which an Associate team has defeated a Full Member nation.

What makes this result more significant is that Nepal have secured it ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup qualifiers next month, and in the absence of their lead spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who has sat out both matches of the series. Nepal coach, Stuart Law, said Lamichhane excused himself citing personal reasons.

Nepal now know they will be favourites to win the third and final match of the series, to be played on Tuesday, having sealed the most significant series win in their cricket history.

Brief scores:
Nepal 173 for 6 in 20 overs (Aasif Sheikh 68, Sundeep Jora 63, Mohammee Aadil Alam 11; Jediah Blades 1-27, Akeal Hosein 2-21, Kyle Mayers 2-26) beat West Indies 83 in 17.1 overs  (Ackeem Auguste 17, Aamir  Jango 16, Jason Holder 21;Dipendra Singh Airee 1-08, Karan KC 1-03,Mohammed Aadil Alam 4-24, Khushal Bhurtel 3-16, Lalit Rajbanshi 1-13) by 90 runs

[Cricinfo]