Undefeated West Indies handed a 104-run defeat to Afghanistan in their last group match of the T20 World Cup 2024 played in Gros Islet, St Lucia. After qualifying for the Super 8 stage both teams faced each other to test their strength who remained unbeaten in their first three games of the group stage.
West Indies scored a whopping 218 runs for five wickets loss in their allotted 20 overs. During this process, West Indies scripted and equalled multiple records including scoring the most runs in an over in T20Is. Nicholas Pooran played a massive role in the team’s 200-plus knock.
Nicholas Pooran who was expected to score the maiden century of the 2024 T20 World Cup missed the glory by just 2 runs after being dismissed via a direct hit in the final over.
In the second half, West Indies also impressed with their bowling performance by containing Afghanistan for 114 runs. With the victory, West Indies becomes one of the few teams to remain unbeaten in their group stage matches.
Speaking of the match, winning the toss Afghanistan decided to bowl first where Brandon King and Charles opened the batting attack on behalf of West Indies. Brandon King kick-started the inning with a boundary of the first delivery.
With a no-ball followed by a boundary in the same over, West Indies scored 13 off the very first over. Azmatullah who bowled the second over, bagged a wicket after spilling a couple of boundaries to Charles.
Azmatullah dismissed Brandon King for 7 and made the first breakthrough. Though the West Indies lost an early wicket, their hitting tempo remained high. In Fazalhaq Farooqi’s second over, the Windies batters scored 15 runs and showed their powerhitting ability.
Pooran in the fourth over made some breathtaking shots by hitting boundaries off the all-legal deliveries. Azmatullah who bagged a wicket off his first over bowled the fourth over in which Nicholas Pooran scored a whopping 36 runs which included 3 maximums and three boundaries. At the end of the first powerplay, West Indies scored 92 runs for a wicket loss.
With back-to-back tight overs from Afghanistan, West Indies batters struggled to continue their momentum. Naveen-ul-Haq in the eighth over broke the threatening partnership by dismissing Charles for 43. At the end of 10 overs, West Indies scored 113 runs for two wickets loss.
With Pooran’s aggressive knock and West Indies middle order batters’ contribution, the Windies scored 218 runs for five wickets loss at the end of 20 overs. Nicholas Pooran who was expected to score the maiden century of the 2024 T20 World Cup missed the glory by just 2 runs after being dismissed via a direct hit in the final over.
In the high-scoring game, West Indies scripted and equalled multiple records including scoring the most runs in an over in T20Is.
With a mammoth target to chase down, Afghanistan made a struggling start by losing their first wicket without scoring any runs. Afghanistan batters struggled to face the aggressive Windies’ bowling lineup and started losing wickets at regular intervals.
Without much contribution from the batters, Afghanistan lost all their ten wickets for just 114 runs, fell 104 runs short and registered their first defeat of the tournament.
West Indies will play their first match of the Super 8 round against England on June 20 in Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia.
