The fairy tale start to the ICC World T20 had to come to an end. Maybe not so soon in the tournament but it did so eventually. Afghanistan’s dream run came to an end on Tuesday as the rampaging West Indies did what big historically tend to do to weaker ones: beat them convincingly.
This is not to say that Afghanistan is a weak side, by no means. And their performance in this tournament and the competitions leading up to it has been stellar. But the team from the Caribbean and fellow hosts pulled out an all-out performance to not only beat the Asian side convincingly but also to send a message out to the rest of the teams. The West Indies mean business.
Nicholas Pooran’s Heroics
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If there was one player who was the difference as far as the batting between both sides, then it was Nicholas Pooran. The Trinidadian cricket played swashbuckling innings blasting the Afghan bowlers to all parts. In an innings that spanned 53 balls Pooran smashed 8 sixes and 6 fours, narrowly missing out on World T20 hundred.
For some time now pundits and commentators have been waiting for a game where one of the big teams puts its foot down on the accelerator and blows away the opposition’s bowling. Sri Lanka managed it in their convincing win over the Netherlands yesterday. And today the Caribbean team followed suit against a much stronger Afghanistan team. However, the win was not just down to the batting.
West Indies Bowlers Enter the Party
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If there is a weak underbelly to the West Indies team historically, and especially in T20s it would be their bowling. West Indies are no longer blessed with pace giants like Walsh and Ambrose but what they lack in world-class quality in pace they make up for it in accuracy, discipline, and attacking spin options. And they were unleashed on an Afghan side that looked oddly out of sorts.
Having lost key opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck, there was some rebuilding thanks to fellow opener Ibrahim Zadran scoring a brisk 38 off 28. But he was hardly supported by the rest of the Afghan batting who soon smothered by some attacking West Indies bowling. The Vincentian Obed McCoy was the pick of the bowlers picking up 3 for 14 in 3 overs.
West Indies – On Their Day Any Team Can Fall
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By blowing away the strong Afghan side by a mammoth 104 runs the team from the Caribbean has sent a strong signal to the rest of the sides left in the tournament. They are not two-time T20 Champions without good reason. And on their day they can beat any side. The question is can this West Indies team click consistently?
The final takeaway for the West Indies is that they have now qualified for the Super 8 undefeated. This is a definite psychological boost going into the big games against tougher opposition. The game plan now would be to stick to the basics and go into every game expecting to challenge the opposition. As two-time winners, they don’t need a second invitation.
