/sportsinfo/media/member_avatars/image 59.png)
Follow Us/sportsinfo/media/media_files/andJBaSovoXB0jdBGqOJ.png)
Nicholas Pooran (Source-ICC)
West Indies cricket team yet again showed why they are the powerhouses in the T20I format during their game against Afghanistan. The two time T20 World Cup winners scored a massive 218/5 from their 20 overs in the final league phase match of the tournament.
It is a huge tonic for the Caribbean side as they head into the Super-8 stages of the campaign. Nicholas Pooran was the best batter as he posted his best ever T20 score of 98 to lead the home team to the massive total on the board.
Rashid Khan might have been cursing his decision to win the toss and field first. Each and every bowler barring Noor Ahmad was hit to all parts of the ground. Even the Afghan skipper himself was smashed for 45 runs from his four overs without picking a wicket.
West Indies pummel Afghanistan to reach huge total
Put into bat, West Indies lost their first wicket in the 2nd over when Brandon King was bowled by Azmatullah Omarzai for 7. Fazalhaq Farooqi who had picked 12 wickets from the earlier three matches was hit for 38 runs from his 3 overs without a single wicket to show for his efforts.
The 2nd wicket stand between Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran was worth 80 and it came off just 37 balls. In the 4th over of the West Indian innings, Azmatullah Omarzai conceded 36 runs to give the home side a huge head start.
Naveen-ul-Haq finally ended the carnage when he had Johnson Charles caught by Gulbadin Naib for 43. It didn’t stop Pooran though as he kept going after the Afghan bowlers who had given up by then.
Shai Hope (25) and skipper Rovman Powell (26) aided the left-handed batter to further punish the tired looking Afghanistan attack. All the attention was on Pooran and if he could reach his maiden T20I century.
The left-handed batter sadly missed his century by 2 runs when the rocket arm of Azmatullah Omarzai hit the stumps on the full. Nicholas Pooran was caught well short of his crease and he was out for 98 runs from 53 balls with 6 fours and 8 sixes in his knock.