Harare – Hundreds from current captain Shai Hope and past captain Nicholas Pooran set up West Indies for a convincing, 101-run win against Nepal in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier yesterday in Zimbabwe.
Hope cracked 132 and left-hander Pooran slammed 115, and they shared a double hundred, fourth-wicket stand to help the Caribbean side reach 339 for seven from their allocation of 50 overs.
After a shaky start in their second Group A match at the Harare Sports Club, Hope and Pooran nursed West Indies back to good health with a stand of 216 after the side slumped to 55 for three.
Overhauling such a total was always beyond the capacity of the Nepalese, and though they got a top score of 63 from Aarif Sheikh, they were never going to stop West Indies from claiming their second win in a row and move ahead of hosts Zimbabwe on net run rate at the top of the standings in the group.
Kyle Mayers formalised the result when he held a sharp return catch to send Karan Khatri Chhetri packing for 28 with two balls remaining in the Nepal chase. (CMC)