World Cup 2019: West Indies end their campaign on a winning note
World Cup 2019, Afghanistan vs West Indies: Shai Hope, Kemar Roach, and Carlos Brathwaite help West Indies end their campaign on a winning note.
MATCH 42: AFGHANISTAN VS WEST INDIES SCORECARD
West Indies: 311-6 in 50 overs | Won by 23 runs
Shai Hope: 77(92) | Nicholas Pooran: 58(43) | Dawlat Zadran: 2-73
Afghanistan: 288-10 in 50 overs
Ikram Ali Khil: 86(93) | Carlos Brathwaite: 4-63 | Kemar Roach: 3-37
Player of the Match: Shai Hope
MATCH SUMMARY:
World Cup 2019, Afghanistan vs West Indies: West Indies finally learn from their mistakes as they give a solid all-round performance to defeat Afghanistan by 23 runs.
It was a long time coming for the West Indies, who after beginning superbly, produced mostly mediocre performances throughout the tournament.
Batting first, West Indies didn’t have a great start once again as the Universe Boss, Chris Gayle, who was playing the last World Cup match of his career departed for 7(18). However, West Indies recovered well after that as their middle-order finally came to the party. They added 88 runs for the second wicket, 65 runs for the third wicket, and 105 runs for the fifth wicket.
Courtesy to Evin Lewis’s 58(78), Shai Hope’s 77(92), Nicholas Pooran’s 58(43), and Jason Holder’s 45(34), West Indies scored 111 runs in their final 10 overs to end on 311-6 in 50 overs.
THE CHASE
Afghanistan needed an inspirational performance from any one of their top order if they had to chase this record score. Gulbadin Naib, however, played a horrible shot that cost him his wicket.
It felt as if Afghanistan would give up on the chase easily, but Afghanistan made a superb comeback as Ikram Ali Khil and Rahmat Shah added a solid 133 for the second wicket. In the process, Ikram Ali Khil became the third-youngest player to score a fifty in World Cups.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s middle-order woes continued as after the dismissal of Ikram Ali Khil for 86(93) and Rahmat Shah for 62(78), Afghanistan stumbled in the chase as they were reduced to 260-9 from 189-2.
Carlos Brathwaite took 4 wickets, while Kemar Roach took 3 wickets as Afghanistan were bundled out for 288 in 50 overs.
Afghanistan did give a good fight, but the lack of experience cost them as they lost the match by 23 runs. So, Afghanistan go winless in the tournament, while West Indies register only their second win of the tournament.
WHAT WENT WRONG FOR AFGHANISTAN?
- The lack of spark in the death bowling as they leaked 111 runs in their last 10 overs.
- Afghanistan’s middle-order, the criminal once again in their batting.
- Senior pros, Gulbadin Naib, Asghar Afghan, and Mohammad Nabi failed to take responsibility in the chase.
NEXT MATCH:
MATCH 43: BANGLADESH VS PAKISTAN
Place: London
Date: July 5, 2019
Time: 3 pm IST
ALSO READ: World Cup 2019: Pakistan’s humiliating loss inspires funny memes
Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics.
Cricket to him is like what ‘Football is to Lionel Messi’, ‘Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar’, ‘Dancing is to Michael Jackson’, and what ‘Acting is to Clint Eastwood’.
Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.
