Since 2024, the mighty West Indies have stumbled in eight of their last 11 T20I series. Their latest setback came not against a fellow powerhouse, but against Nepal—a rising cricket nation that clinched a landmark series victory with a commanding 90-run win on Monday.

Nepal started the three-match T20I series, the first for the Rhinos against a Test nation, on September 27, aiming for at least one win against the two-time T20 World Cup champion. But when they registered a 19-run win in the opener, eyebrows raised across the cricketing world as Nepal won their first T20 match against a full member.

The amazement escalated to another level when Nepal won the series on Monday, with one match in hand. From the hope for one win in three games, the Rhinos, as the hosts in a neutral venue, went on to win the series—the Unity Cup—at the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium. But as a dream of a clean sweep against a world heavyweight came up, the West Indies were in no mood to have their image tampered with to that extent.

As a result, when the two teams began the play of the final match of the series on Tuesday, the Caribbean side was serious while Nepal seemed to have let their guard down a bit.

Thus, Nepal, who posted 148/8 and 173/6 in the first two innings, were bundled out at 122 runs in 19.5 overs in the first inning in the final match. The West Indies, on the other hand, after scoring only 129/9 and 83 all out in the first two chases, chased 123 on Tuesday without losing a single wicket and with 46 balls remaining.

Windies’ 8th T20I series loss since 2024

The West Indies played their first T20I series of 2024 in February against Australia. The Aussies won two of the three matches to win the series. The Caribbean side then hosted South Africa in May and August and clean-swept both of the three-match series.

However, they then lost to two South Asian sides. Sri Lanka won 2-1 in the three-match series in October 2024, while Bangladesh whitewashed the three-match series in December last year. And when England toured the Caribbean side in between, in November 2024, for a five-match series, the hosts lost 1-3, with the final and fifth match cancelled due to rain at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia on November 17, 2024.

The West Indies lost again when they toured England in June this year. They lost all three matches of the series, with England posting a target of 249 runs in the final match and winning by 37 runs.

The third win in a T20I series for the two-time World Cup champion came in June when they reached Ireland after concluding the series in England. The first two of the three matches in the series were abandoned without a ball being bowled, while the West Indies won by 62 runs in the final match.

The West Indies then hosted Australia for a five-match series in July. The visitors defeated the hosts in all five of them. The West Indies batted first in all five games, and Australia chased their targets, the biggest one being 215 runs in the 3rd T20I in Basseterre, in every one of them.

Before losing to Nepal, the West Indies had lost to Pakistan in the three-match series in Lauderhill, USA. The Windies won the second match but lost the first and last ones.

Nepal vs young West Indies

Nepal are a young side, but the West Indies are not. The Caribbean side has a huge pool of players to select from.

While a senior side was busy facing Nepal in the T20I series, a whole different squad was in India to prepare for the upcoming two-match Test series, which are being played on October 2-6 and October 10-14 in Ahmedabad and Delhi, respectively.

Moreover, the West Indies had five players debut against Nepal. Amir Jangoo, Ackeem Auguste, Navin Bidaisee and Ramon Simmonds debuted in the first T20I, while Zishan Motara got his first cap in the second match of the series.

Jason Holder, Akeal Hossain, Keacy Cartey, Jediah Blades, Fabian Allen, Obed McCoy and Jewel Andrew were players who could be termed as big names in the West Indies squad against Nepal.

Still, it was a senior West Indies side that faced the Rhinos. While there were a few criticisms against them for not sending the best squad, most Nepalis took to social media, reached the pages of Cricket West Indies and thanked them for accepting Nepal’s invitation for the series.

It was the two new faces—Jangoo and Auguste, the opening pair of the 3rd T20I—who held their ground and chased Nepal’s target of 123 runs with ease. Jangoo scored 74 off 45 with five fours and six sixes, while Auguste managed 41 off 29 with four fours and two sixes.

Bigger doors to open for Nepal

Andrew Leonard, the Irish commentator who calls Nepal his second home and Nepalis love him equally in return, in the third T20 on Tuesday, was regularly stressing how the two wins against the West Indies could help in Nepal’s journey to become a Test nation. “One of the criteria to become a Test nation is to register wins against Test nations,” Leonard kept saying.

Nepal have already shown the world their abilities multiple times. They have always given a good fight to the ICC full members whenever they got the opportunity. The struggle for South Africa, the finalists of the 2024 T20 World Cup, in earning a one-run win over Nepal during the group stage was one of those examples.

There has also been an increase in investment in Nepali cricket and its infrastructure. Nepal’s home of cricket, TU International Cricket Ground, is getting a facelift with concrete parapets and floodlights. The inaugural edition of the Nepal Premier League last year also caught the attention of the global cricket audience, while the fans are eagerly waiting for the second edition, which has been slated for November under the newly-installed floodlights at a new TU Ground.