KIRTIPUR, Nepal, CMC – Gudakesh Motie’s brilliant all-round effort fired West Indies-A to a ten-run victory over Nepal in the second Twenty20 of the five-match series here Sunday.
With his side slumping at 115 for seven in the 18th over, the left-handed Motie arrived to smash a sensational eight-ball unbeaten 33 as West Indies-A rallied to 160 for seven off their 20 overs at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground.
Andre Fletcher top-scored with 43 from 36 balls while captain Roston Chase weighed in with 23 from 22 deliveries.
The 29-year-old Motie then returned with his left-arm spin to claim two for 22, a spell which helped to restrict the hosts and draw West Indies-A level in the series ahead of Tuesday’s third encounter.
Captain Rohit Paudel top-scored with an unbeaten 71 off 48 deliveries but left-arm seamer Obed McCoy (2-24) and off-spinner Chase (1-27) produced stingy spells to stall the run chase.
Choosing to bat first, West Indies-A stumbled to 18 for two in the third over after openers Alick Athanaze (6) and Johnson Charles (11) perished cheaply, but Fletcher and Chase combined in a 46-run, third wicket partnership to repair the innings.
Fletcher, who struck three sixes, added a further 25 for the fifth wicket with Keemo Paul (8) before becoming one of two wickets to fall in the 18th over as West Indies-A lost three wickets for 11 runs in the space of 11 balls.
However, Motie clobbered two fours and four sixes in a 45-run, unbroken eighth wicket stand with Matthew Forde (11 not out), as West Indies-A gathered a stunning 41 runs from the last two overs of the innings.
In reply, West Indies-A made key strikes to leave Nepal’s reply in tatters at 28 for four at the end of the sixth over before Paudel galvanized his side’s recovery, first in a 33-run, fifth wicket stand with Gulsan Jha (26) and then in a 43-run sixth wicket partnership with Aarif Sheikh (12).
Paudel lashed half-dozen fours and two sixes while Jha clobbered three fours and two sixes in an 11-ball cameo but Motie and McCoy struck in successive overs to turn the game in their side’s favour.
