ICC T20 World Cup: West Indies thrash Afghanistan by 104 runs, Pooran shines with 98 runs

Saint Lucia: The well-renowned wicketkeeper and batsman Nicholas Pooran hit an amazing 98 runs, while opener Johnson Charles scored 43 runs from 27 deliveries as West Indies secured an exceptional 104-run victory over Afghanistan.

This was during their final preliminary round match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 held on Monday at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia.

With both the teams already through to the next stage of the prestigious tournament, the two time champions West Indies had an excellent victory against Afghanistan in front of a huge crowd in Saint Lucia.

Not only this, but also Pooran’s eight sixes helped West Indies rack up 218 for 5 which is the highest score of the tournament as well as the highest score in a T20 international at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

The West Indies team stood at 85 for one after five overs, with 36 runs coming from the fourth over. This equaled the record for the most expensive over in the men’s T20 internationals. Eventually, Pooran was run out during the final over, desperately trying to keep the strike to hit a century, but was left just by two overs.

The dominance of the West Indies continued into Afghanistan’s chase when Akeal Hosein had Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught for a three-ball duck in a maiden wicket to begin the things off.

Following this, the left-arm pacer, Obed McCoy, took three wickets for 14, and Akeal Hosein took two for 21. Gudakesh Motie also took two for 28, leaving the Afghanistan team bowled out for 114 runs in just 16.2 overs.

The back-to-back wickets by the hosts made it difficult for the opponent to chase the 218 score. The one sided match kept the audience engaged throughout the match and they kept hooting for their favourite players as they scored fours and sixes and also took the wickets.

In addition to this, the winning team will now play England today at the same venue at 8:30 pm in their first super eight encounter.