ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Nicholas Pooran scores 98 runs.

ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Nicholas Pooran scores 98 runs.

In the last match of the group stage of the ICC T20 World Cup, West Indies defeated Afghanistan by 104 runs.

Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bowl at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, St. Lucia. West Indies scored 218 runs for 5 wickets in 20 overs. This was the highest score of this World Cup, in response, Afghanistan was all out after scoring 114 runs in 16.2 overs.

Nicholas Pooran scored 98 runs in 53 balls for West Indies. At the same time, Johnson Charles scored 43 runs and Rovman Powell scored 26 runs. Whereas, Obed McCoy took 3 wickets. Gudakesh Moti and Akeel Hossain got 2-2 wickets. Andre Russell and Alzari Joseph got 1-1 wickets.

Ibrahim Zadran scored the most runs for Afghanistan. He played an innings of 38 runs. Gulbadin Naib got 2 wickets. At the same time, Azmatullah Omarzai and Naveen Ul Haq got 1-1 wickets.

This match had no effect on the Super-8. However, Afghanistan had to face its first defeat in the tournament, while West Indies is still unbeaten.

Nicholas Pooran's brilliant batting

Former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran was the hero of the match. He played a brilliant innings of 98 runs. Nicholas batted brilliantly from one end and added runs continuously. Meanwhile, he also made fifty partnerships twice. First he made a partnership of 80 runs with Johnson Charles, then a partnership of 64 runs with Rovman Powell.

Reasons for West Indies victory

Aggressive batting - Despite the wicket falling in the second over, West Indies continued aggressive batting. Understanding the pitch, the team's batsmen hit big hits continuously.

Brilliant fielding - West Indies did not drop a single catch in the match. Taking advantage of all the opportunities, they capitalized on all the opportunities to take catches and also saved runs.

Excellent captaincy - Rovman Powell's captaincy was excellent. Understanding the nature of the pitch, he gave the first over with the new ball to spinner Akeel Hossain. Hossain took a wicket on this, due to which Afghanistan's innings started faltering from the powerplay itself. At the same time, Obed McCoy was used properly. Captain Powell gave him a chance in the match in place of Romario Shepherd.

West Indies innings - Excellent performance in powerplay

Opener Johnson Charles did not disappoint. Charles, who was out on zero in the first two matches, scored 44 runs. Brandon King, who came to open with him, could score only 7 runs and got out.

Afghanistan innings, Opening failed:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was opening for Afghanistan, got out in the first over on the ball of Aqeel Hossain in an attempt to hit big shots in the powerplay. Ibrahim Zadran succeeded in dismissing Alzari Joseph by hitting four and two sixes in the first six overs. However, he too became the victim of Aqeel Hossain in the 8th over and was out after scoring 38 runs.

McKoy dismissed Najibullah Zadran on 0 a few balls later and then bowled Nabi in the tenth over to bring Afghanistan's score to 63/5. Later, Azmatullah Omarzai hit some powerful shots, Hossain took his wicket. He was out after scoring 23 runs. Karim Janat could score only 14 runs and Rashid Khan also scored 18 runs. Apart from these four, no player could even cross the double-digit mark.

Playing XI

West Indies: Rovman Powell (captain), Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wicketkeeper), Shai Hope, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Akeal Hosein, Alzari Joseph, Gudakesh Moti and Obed McCoy.

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi.

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