West Indies seal a comfortable 30 run win over Afghanistan in 1st T20I

52
Picture Courtesy: Williow TV

After whitewashing Afghanistan 3-0 in the ODI series, West Indies started the T20I series with a 30-run win played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajypee Ekana International Stadium, Lucknow on Thursday.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan won the toss and decided to field first. The decision paid off as Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck in first over dismissing debutant Brandon King for 4. Evin Lewis attacked the Afghanistan bowlers and showed his power. At the end of six overs, West Indies were 52 for 1.

After the power play overs, Lewis continued to attack the Afghanistan bowlers and reached his fifty off 26 balls. Shimron Hetymer gave him full support. As things looked dangerous for Afghanistan, Rashid Khan struck to dismiss Hetymer for run ball 21. Hetymer and Lewis added 87 runs for the 2nd wicket. In the next over, Gulbadin Naib struck to dismiss the dangerous Evin Lewis for 68. Captain Kieron Pollard led from the front scoring a quick fire 32 off 22 balls and helped West Indies post 164 for 5 in 20 overs.

Chasing 165 runs to win, Afghanistan got off to a horrible start as they lost 2 early wickets of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibhraim Zadran cheaply. Hazaratullah Zazai and Asghar Afghan played with caution and took the hosts to 38 for 2 at the end of six overs.

Zazai and Asghar Afghan looked confident with their stroke play. As things looked good for Afghanistan, Zazai went for a big stroke and was dismissed by Kesrick Williams for 23. Zazai and Afghan added 48 runs for the 3rd wicket. Najibullah Zadran played with confidence and tried to put West Indies bowlers under pressure. With the required run rate climbing, Afghanistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals. With a lot of dew around, West Indies bowlers showed their class and restricted Afghanistan to 134 for 9. Farheed Malik remained not out on 24 off 15 balls but was not enough for the Afghans winning the match.

West Indies 164 for 5 in 20 overs ( Evin Lewis 68, Gulbadin Naib 2/24) beat Afghanistan 134 for 9 in 20 overs ( Najibullah Zadran 27, Asghar Afghan 25, Kesrick Williams 3/17) by 30 runs.

West Indies takes a 1-0 lead in the 3 match T20I series. The 2nd match would be played on 16th November.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here