West Indies 114 for 4 (Samuels 35, Shapoor 2-30) beat Afghanistan 110 (Rashid 33, Hamza 21, Narine 3-11) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Sunil Narine claimed 3 for 11 © AFP
A hare-brained approach with the bat ended Afghanistan’s record 11-match winning streak and sent them tumbling to a six-wicket loss in the series opener against West Indies at Warner Park. After choosing to bat first on a slightly two-paced surface, Afghanistan threw their bats at the ball and threw their wickets away. They were reduced to 58 for 8 by the 14th over, and were staring at their lowest total in T20 internationals. Rashid Khan, coming off a productive, maiden IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Amir Hamza, however, unleashed some late blows, which dragged the side to 110.
Afghanistan had defended a similar low total against West Indies in the World T20 in India last year – which marked the beginning of their golden run – and more recently in the tour match against West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI on Tuesday. But Samuels’ stylish 35 ensured the hosts cantered home with 21 balls to spare.
Batting like millionaires, collapsing his paupers
Gulbadin Naib started the innings with a violent triptych off fast bowler James Taylor: a flick over square leg, a pull over the same region, and a swipe over midwicket. The other five balls he played out were all dots, including a non-turning legbreak from Samuel Badree, which pinned him leg-before. His boundary-or-nothing innings, perhaps, was a sign of things to follow.
Naib’s opening partner, Usman Ghani, was the victim of a farcical mix-up, where he and Asghar Stanikzai were at the strikers’ end. Four balls later, the Afghanistan captain pulled hard at a sharp bouncer, and only spliced a return catch. The visitors, though, kept swinging like millionaires. Karim Jant dared to back away outside leg and slap Badree through the covers for four. A wild leg-side mow at Carlos Brathwaite, though, resulted in a top edge to Chadwick Walton, the wicketkeeper. Forty-two for 4 became 46 for 5 when Nabi recklessly slashed a catch to third man, instead of attempting to rebuild the innings. Sunil Narine‘s triple-strike then left Afghanistan in serious danger of being dismissed for their lowest total in T20Is. They had been skittled for 72 against Bangladesh in the 2014 World T20.
Saving face
Rashid and Hamza then knocked the balls along the ground as Afghanistan recalibrated their strategy towards lasting 20 overs. Badree, Brathwaite, and Taylor were all milked for ones and twos. The two spinners later cut loose in the last two overs of the innings, which yielded 32 runs. The highlights included a flat-batted swat over long-off and a short-arm jab over wide long-on. On another night, such an onslaught could have saved the day for Afghanistan. On Saturday, it only helped them save face.
A regulation chase
Walton and Evin Lewis made early inroads into the slim chase, adding 33 in only 3.3 overs. They did not slog aimlessly like Afghanistan’s batsmen. Instead, they held their shape, and picked their areas. Shapoor Zadran, the only front line fast-bowling option in the team, conceded two fours off the first two balls of the chase. Lewis then launched him over mid-off for a six. Nabi and Hamza weren’t spared either. Rashid, though, would hold his own with the ball as well, finishing with 1 for 14 in his four-over spell, which contained 18 dots.
Zadran and Lewis then holed out but Samuels, who had blown cold in his stint with Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, blew hot. He announced his arrival with a massive six, which flew out of the ground. He continued to time the ball exquisitely before being bowled by Shapoor with West Indies 12 away from victory. Jason Mohammed and Rovman Powell, picked in place of an ill Kieron Pollard, completed the formalities with no fuss. West Indies may be a fading ODI force, failing to qualify for the Champions Trophy in England, but they reminded Afghanistan and the rest of the world that they are still the boss in T20 cricket.
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo