Gros Islet (St. Lucia): Nicholas Pooran’s 98 followed by Obed McCoy’s three-for powered West Indies to a dominant 104-run win over Afghanistan in the last group stage of the T20 World Cup here at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (as per IST).
Asked to bat first, Pooran’s 98 off 53 and Johnson Charles’s 43 off 27 guided West Indies to 218/5, the highest total by any team at this edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup, surpassing the 201/6 Sri Lanka managed against the Netherlands at the same venue and Australia’s 201/7 against England in Barbados.
Pooran’s outstanding 98 was the highest score by any player at this T20 World Cup, surpassing the unbeaten 94 from USA’s Aaron Jones put together against Canada in Dallas.
Moreover, Pooran overtook Chris Gayle for the most sixes by a West Indies player in Men’s T20I history.
In response, Afghanistan managed to post 114 in 16.2 overs to suffer their first loss of the 2024 edition of the T2 World Cup.
Batting first, Windies had a fast start. Brandon King’s (7 off 6) wicket in the second over did little to halt the hosts’ momentum. But, Charles and Pooran both clicked into top gear.
Charles struck three boundaries in the third over, which inspired Pooran to do something truly out of this world at the change of ends. The keeper-batter exploded, producing a 36-run over off Azmatullah Omarzai’s bowling – 6, 5NB, 5WD, 0, 4LB, 4, 6, 6, ICC reports.
It’s the fifth time in Men’s T20I history an over has gone for 36 runs, the second time at a Men’s World Cup. The final six of the Omarzai over saw the partnership reach 50.
The pair continued with the onslaught and surged West Indies’ to 92/1 at the six-over mark, the biggest Powerplay total in Men’s T20 World Cup history.
Another boundary from Charles had the Windies touch 100-run mark in 7.4 overs, before the right-hander was dismissed to end the eighth over. It ended an 80-run stand that took just six overs. The hosts reached drinks at 113/2.
Shai Hope’s cameo (25 off 17) helped the run rate stay in double digits, as Pooran raised the bat in the 14th over – his 50 came off just 31 balls and it was his first half-century in a T20 World Cup.
Boundaries dried up during overs 12 to 15, bringing the hosts’ run rate below 10. Afghanistan’s bowlers were in control until Rovman Powell hit a six at the start of the 16th over, pushing the Windies past 150.
Pooran smashed 24 runs off Rashid Khan in the 18th, who ended with 0/45 from his four overs. Powell was out for 26 off 15 in the 19th over, bringing Andre Russell to the crease.
Russell aimed to get Pooran back on strike, as he was 15 runs short of a century at the final over’s start. Pooran hit two sixes and a single but was run out for 98 off 53 balls by a sensational throw from Omarzai.
The West Indies finished at 218/5, their highest T20 World Cup score and the tournament’s biggest so far.
Chasing a mammoth target, Afghanistan lost a Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0 off 3) in the third over. Gulbadin Naib and Ibrahim Zadran led Afghanistan to 45/1 by the end of the Powerplay.
Then, Gutakesh Motie struck in the next over, sparking a collapse that left Afghanistan at 66/5 at the innings’ midpoint.
After drinks, Karim Janat and Omarzai hit sixes in the 11th over, but Omarzai was dismissed in the 13th for 23 off 19. The Windies then dominated in the field, bowling Afghanistan out for 114, marking Afghanistan’s first defeat of this World Cup.
Brief scores: West Indies 218/5 in 20 overs ( Nicholas Pooran 98, J Charles 43; Gulbadin Naib 2-14) beat Afghanistan 114 all out in 16.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 38, Obed McCoy 3-14) by 104 runs.
–IANS