West Indies flexed their all-round might to down Afghanistan by a massive 104-run margin and close out the group stage with four wins on the bounce. A record PowerPlay was followed by more swinging for the fences by Nicholas Pooran, whose 58-ball 93 set West Indies up for a massive 200-plus total. Afghanistan then crumbled in the face of a tall chase.
Where was the game won?
West Indies scored more than double of what Afghanistan got in the PowerPlay but it was the capitulation in the middle-overs that brought about the latter’s downfall. Afghanistan even scored one more run than West Indies did in this period but the difference was stark in the wickets column.
| Parameters | West Indies | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 56/2 | 57/7 |
| 4s/6s | 1/2 | 4/2 |
| RR | 6.23 | 6.33 |
West Indies
PowerPlay: Hosts go hell for leather
Phase score – 92/1 [RR: 15.34, 4s/6s: 13/3]
Nearly half the deliveries in the opening phase of this innings were hit for either a four or six as the hosts woke up and chose to go hell for leather. The onslaught began on the first ball when Brandon King flicked a full ball from Fazalhaq Farooqi through midwicket for a four. Azmatullah Omarzai cleaned him up in the second over, but was in for a beating in his next as Nicholas Pooran carted him around in a 36-run over that included three sixes, three fours, five wides and a dismissal that didn’t count because it came on a free-hit ball. Thanks to this manic over, West Indies went well past 50 in just the fourth. Pooran and Johnson Charles just kept hitting through the line in pristine batting conditions. Naveen-ul-Haq bowled the quietest over of the PowerPlay in the sixth, giving away 7 runs off it. WI still ended with the highest PowerPlay score in T20 World Cups, beating the previous best of 91/1 by Netherlands against Ireland in Sylhet in 2014.
Middle-overs: AFG slow the scoring down with spin
Phase score – 56/2 [RR: 6.23, 4s/6s: 1/2]
Naveen brought some more respite for Afghanistan as he ended Charles’s assault in the eighth over with a slower one. The opener was early on his shot and ended up chipping the ball towards Gulbadin Naib who completed a sharp catch at cover. Afghanistan clawed their way back after the wicket with quiet overs from Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed, conceding just 21 in four overs after the PowerPlay. Rashid introduced Mohammad Nabi with a view to slow West Indies down further but Shai Hope took on his favorable match-up (off-spinner) by tonking him for two sixes over deep mid-wicket. Rashid replaced him right away with Gulbadin Naib, who started with a cutter and lured Hope into a false shot – another slog sweep that was very well caught by Najibullah Zadran at deep midwicket.
Death overs: Pooran falls two short of ton
Phase score – 70/2 [RR: 14.00, 4s/6s: 3/7]
Pooran was starved off the strike in the middle overs when Afghanistan fought back but the left-hander restored West Indies’ strong position in the death overs. He turbocharged West Indies’ essay when he went after Rashid in the 18th over, hitting him for three sixes and a four. West Indies went past the 200-run mark in the 19th over before Pooran set himself up for a three-figure score in the 20th. He saw through Naveen’s change of pace to hit a six down the ground on the first ball and followed it up with another big hit over deep midwicket. An exceptional direct him by Azmatullah Omarzai from deep cover then caught Pooran short of his ground despite putting in a dive to complete two runs, leaving him agonisingly short of a century. He walked back for a 53-ball 98 and West Indies finished with 218 for 5.
Afghanistan
PowerPlay: Early exit for Gurbaz; Ibrahim pushes the chase ahead
Phase score – 45/1 [RR: 7.50, 4s/6s: 6/1]
Afghanistan were dented early in their big chase as their best batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz mistimed a shot straight to Andre Russell at mid-on in the first over from Akeal Hosein. The wicket and the subsequent slow goings in the PowerPlay were given a late push by Ibrahim Zadran, who took risks against Hosein to hit two fours off him in the fifth over and targetted the leg side fence against Alzarri Joseph in the sixth. Zadran hit five of the six fours that Afghanistan got in the first six overs, and also tonked the only six.
Middle-overs: The wheels come off for Afghanistan
Phase score – 57/7 [RR: 6.33, 4s/6s: 4/2]
Obed McCoy came in for his first game of the World Cup and made an instant impact. Replacing Romario Shepherd, who went home for the birth of his second child, McCoy derailed the chase through the middle-overs with three wickets. Before the left-arm pacer rattled Afghanistan, Gudakesh Motie dug in, trapping Gulbadin Naib leg before on the first ball of the seventh over. The Afghan batter took a review back with him. McCoy then started out with a wicket off a hit-me ball – bowled full and on the pads that Zadran flicked but only as far as Johnson Charles at deep square leg. Najibullah Zadran fell next, trying to back away and slap a short ball over deep point. He too found Charles in the deep. In his next over, McCoy cleaned up Mohammad Nabi to leave Afghanistan five down by the halfway stage. Karim Janat went after Motie in the first over after the drinks break, hitting him for two sixes but the derailment of the chase continued in Hosein’s over in the 13th. The ball flew off the leading edge of Omarzai’s bat to Powell at cover and then Janat dashed out for a non-existent run and got run out. Motie then dismissed Noor to leave Afghanistan eight down.
Death overs: WI wrap up big win
Phase score – 12/2 [RR: 9.00, 4s/6s: 1/1]
It took just eight balls at the death to wrap up the win as Alzarri Joseph bowled a bouncer that was too good for Naveen and Andre Russell got Rashid to hole out to long-off.
Brief Scores: West Indies 218/5 (Nicholas Pooran 98, Johnson Charles 43; Gubadin Naib 2-14) beat Afghanistan 114 in 16.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 38; Obed McCoy 3-14, Akeal Hosein 2-21, Gudakesh Motie 2-28) by 104 runs
What next?
Afghanistan travel to Barbados for their first Super-8 game, against India, on June 20. West Indies stay back in St. Lucia where they face England in the Super-8s on June 19.
