T20 World Cup: West Indies wins opening match against Papua New Guinea

The West Indies Men’s team achieved a significant five-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea during the opening Group C match of the T20 World Cup held on Sunday at the Guyana National Stadium.

During the match, the Papua New Guinea set a modest target of 137 in twenty overs following which the West Indies narrowly escaped an upset in their opening match ultimately securing a five-victory win.

According to the information, the two time former champions were undone by clever and disciplined PNG team’s bowling who slumped to 97 for five with just four over left when Roston Chase’s unbeaten 42 off 27 balls stole the show from the power hitting Andre Russell (15 not out) to take the team to win at 137 for 5 off 19 overs.

At the end of the match, the West Indies team required 37 runs to win off the 19 balls, and they won with six balls still left. Roston Chase hit the most runs of 42 as his 40-run partnership with Russell got them over the line.

Meanwhile, PNG fell to 7-2 during the 3rd over of their innings when opener Tony Ura and Lega Siaka’s batting failed to pay off. Captain Assad Vala added 21 runs to the overall score, with Sese Bau then adding 50 off 43 balls before being bowled by all-rounder Alzarri Joseph to leave Papua New Guinea at 98-6.

Following this, wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga added 24 runs while remaining not out to haul them up to 136-8. Joseph and Russell claimed two wickets apiece, with Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, and Gudakesh Motie each taking one.

In reply, Johnson Charles, who opened for West Indies, was trapped LBW by Alei Nao for a golden duck, with Nao dismissing Windies wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran for a duck during the second over.

After surviving this early scare, Pooran put on a 53 run partnership with Brandon King following which King Sherfane Rutherford were dismissed by Vale with West Indies falling from 61-1 to 97-5.

The tough match was eventually won by the West Indies as the team showcased their exceptional skills.