Windies hoping to settle grouses in final
Published:Saturday | March 24, 2018 | 12:00 AM
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CMC):
Favourites West Indies will be hoping not only to lift the title, but also settle a few grudges when they face plucky Afghanistan in today's final of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers.
The Caribbean side's single blemish in the month-long tournament came at the hands of the Asian side when they went down by three wickets in their opening match of the Super Sixes after failing to defend 197.
To be fair to Afghanistan, the effort was no fluke either. They also beat the Windies in the warm-ups and also sprang a surprise on their maiden tour of the Caribbean last year when they captured the opening One-Day International in St Lucia.
With the Afghans having emerged as the Windies' bogey team, the history has not been lost on captain Jason Holder, who said that his side had a special motivation to topple their opponents.
"We're raring to beat Afghanistan," the in-form all-rounder said ahead of the contest at Harare Sports Club.
"They've got the better of us in the Super Six game and warm-up game, so there is all to play for here in this last game. It is a challenge for us as well."
COMMON THREAD
There has been a common thread in all three of the Windies' defeats to Afghanistan: Rashid Khan.
The 19-year-old leg-spinner snatched seven for 18 in the St Lucia contest - the fourth-best figures in ODI history - before returning with miserly figures of two for seven from 22 balls to help formalise the warm-up win earlier in this tournament.
In the Super Six triumph, he again proved stingy, conceding just 31 runs from his full complement of overs.
Apart from the hopes of revenge, the Windies also see victory in the final as the ideal way to cap off a campaign in which they have set themselves apart from the other nine teams.
Their win over Scotland on Wednesday - albeit a fortuitous one requiring DLS - saw them become the first team from the tournament to secure a World Cup spot, and Holder said it was important for the two-time former World champions to finish strongly.