‘Something we need to work on’

IT WAS almost heart-in-the-mouth stuff from host West Indies who had to show nerves of steel to eventually carve out a comfortable five-wicket victory over a pesky Papua New Guinea (PNG) side in their opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Guyana yesterday.

It took some resolute batting from Roston Chase and Andre Russell to guide the West Indies after the hosts first restricted PNG to 136 for eight and then got the runs for the loss of five wickets with an over to spare.

Asked to take first strike, Papua New Guinea’s innings got off to a shaky start, losing early wickets, including Tony Ura for two and Lega Siaka for one, with just seven runs on the board in the third over.

However, Sese Bau steadied the ship with a magnificent knock, notching up his fourth T20 half-century for his country, comprising six boundaries and a maximum, before being dismissed by Alzarri Joseph for 50 with just over three overs remaining.

Wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga chipped in with a valiant unbeaten 27. At the same time, skipper Assas Vala made 21 against two wickets each for Russell and Joseph, with the former claiming his 50th wicket in T20 internationals.

In their reply, the West Indies faced early setbacks, losing Johnson Charles lbw for a duck to Alei Nao.

Nao’s fiery spell could have yielded another wicket had a review been taken against an lbw shout against Nicholas Pooran just before rain briefly halted play.

STABILITY

On the resumption, Brandon King provided some stability with 34 from 29 balls with seven fours. Still, his departure, along with the wickets of Pooran for 27, captain Rovman Powell for 15, and Sherfane Rutherford for two, left the West Indies in a precarious position at 97 for 5 with only four overs remaining.

However, Chase and Russell showed class under pressure, steering their team to victory with an unbeaten 40-run sixth-wicket partnership. Chase’s resilient 42 not out earned him the player of the match award while Russell’s valuable contribution of 15 not out ensured that the host secured a vital win to kickstart their T20 World Cup campaign on a positive note.

Winning captain Rovman Powell credited his team’s tenacity while lifting his hat to the grit and fight shown by the PNG side.

“Credit has to be given to PNG. I thought their plans were simple, and they played good cricket. I also thought their score was 10 or 15 runs too much, and as a bowling group, that’s something we need to work on heading into our next fixtures.”

PNG captain Assad Vala could not have been prouder of the effort shown by his players.

“It was a competitive score, but we missed a trick towards the end. We’re delighted with how we fought as we got wickets in key moments but couldn’t nail it in the end. Nevertheless, I’m pleased with the effort from the boys.”