There was almost a Test-match vibe to the morning at the Wankhede when all the hype was being built around the evening game. Unlike in Colombo, the sun was out in all its glory in Mumbai, the crowd was flowing in swiftly, there was moisture in the fresh pitch, and the captain winning the toss chose to bowl expecting assistance for his bowlers.
That Akeal Hosein got the new ball for West Indies was also pretty fitting. He often looks to swing the new ball with his seam-up grip early on. It only worked for him that his match-up against Nepal opener Kushal Bhurtel - three dismissals in three innings and 17 off 15 balls until this game - was in his favour and he did Bhurtel in again by firing in an arm ball that rattled the stumps.
Then came Matthew Forde from the other end. He would not have even played this game had it not been for a niggle for Romario Shepherd, but the tall, lean machine had all the ingredients West Indies wanted in someone with the new ball. He swung the ball in, he straightened it off the pitch, he towered over the Nepal batters, and he sent down pace too to beat the batters.
At a time when Nepal's batters were searching for runs in the powerplay, perhaps thinking they would need an above-par total to give West Indies any sort of fight as the pitch would ease up for batting later, Forde kept the pressure up and the scoring rate down to strangle Nepal's top order. His tall release and stifling lines meant Nepal's batters were left hopping and with no room to work with whatsoever. His nip-backer that thudded into Rohit Paudel's pads looked so close for lbw that Forde went off into a celebrappeal in his wicket maiden. And when the batters thought the balls would come in - either through swing or off the pitch - he got a few to straighten that left the batters' feet cemented on the crease and their bats distant from the white ball gleaming under the hot sun.
Off Forde's 18 deliveries Nepal faced in the powerplay, they were in control only 10 times, which explained why they crawled to 22 for 3 with just three fours, the second-lowest powerplay score in this T20 World Cup. Seeing Forde's tail up, his captain Shai Hope gave him another over - another sight almost borrowed from the longest format - and Forde gave away just two more to finish with frugal figures of 4-1-10-1.
"On Mathew, he's been incredible for us in the powerplay in the last few series all the way from New Zealand when he came back from that (shoulder) injury," Hope said after the game. "So it's great to have him back."
On what Nepal's experienced allrounder Sompal Kami called "difficult conditions," they were desperate for runs. But such was their day that even when Aasif Sheikh tried to put away a loosener on the pads from Jason Holder, he found deep fine leg. Even as Holder kept a gully in place for the purchase he was getting off the pitch, he had Aarif Sheikh sky one to the leg side where Forde, looking straight into the sun above him just before the clock hit 12pm, settled under one and Nepal were 23 for 4. The music continued to blare from the speakers at Wankhede but the crowd full of Nepal fans had been silenced.
Nepal stretched to 42 for 4 at the halfway mark, which turned out to be the second-lowest score after 10 overs in this World Cup.
"We can get the conditions in our favour, but if as a bowling group we're not hitting the right areas and giving them freebies to score, then we're not helping ourselves in that regard," Hope said. "So, again, credit must be given to our bowlers for winning the toss, one, and then making it difficult for the Nepalese batters to get off that flier that they have been getting off to in the tournament."
Nepal were soon five down and every wicket was cheered by an animated Daren Sammy from the dugout. You could almost see the West Indies players celebrating in his reflective shades, almost mirroring the 2016 spirit Sammy has summoned for this World Cup to try and get them a third T20 trophy.
As Holder completed his four-for in the death overs, the West Indies fast bowlers capped a combined bowling show that followed their spinners taking down England in the previous game for their third straight win. In all three games, their batters have also scored the runs they have been expected to, they have hit the sixes they are known for, and they hunted down the target of 134 on Sunday with ease to go into their last league game with their Super Eights spot already sealed.
Holder said in order to put the recent series losses against South Africa and Afghanistan behind them, they had had "in-depth conversations" in the dressing room which reflected in the "maturity levels" of the individual performances.
"Different people have stepped up and it hasn't been like one consistent person in every single game," Holder said after the game. "See, the main thing for us is to stay focused and ensure we continue with this momentum we've got."