The two-time champion team won after falling a lot… PNG was almost breathless

New Delhi. Two-time champion West Indies had to work hard to win their first match. Weak team Papua New Guinea made the Windies sweat in a low-scoring match of the T20 World Cup. Andre Russell and Roston Chase led the host West Indies team to victory while chasing the target of 137 runs. Both played sensible innings in difficult times and gave the Windies a 5-wicket win. With this, West Indies started with a win in the T20 World Cup 2024. Windies achieved the target for 5 wickets in 19 overs. Roston Chase scored the highest unbeaten 42 runs off 27 balls while Andre Russell returned unbeaten after scoring 15 runs off 9 balls.

West Indies (Wi VS PNG) did not have a good start while chasing the target. Opener Johnson Charles returned to the pavilion without opening his account. Charles was dismissed LBW by Alei Nao. Windies' first wicket fell at a score of 8. After this, Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran took charge of the innings. Both of them shared a partnership of 53 runs and took the score beyond 60. Tony Ura caught Pooran off John Carico's ball. Pooran was out after scoring 27 runs off 27 balls. He hit 2 sixes and a four.

Brandon King, who was in good rhythm, returned to the pavilion after scoring 34 runs off 29 balls. He was caught by Lega Siaka off Assad Wala. King hit 7 fours off 29 balls. Captain Rovman Powell was dismissed after scoring 15 runs off 14 balls. He was caught by Chad Soper off Kriplin Doriga. Windies lost their fifth wicket in the form of Sherfane Rutherford. Rutherford was sent to the pavilion by Assad Wala on a personal score of 2 runs.

WI vs PNG, T20 World Cup: Windies set a target of 137 runs, Sese Bau scored a half-century

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PNG scored 136 runs for 8 wickets
Earlier, thanks to the half-century of Sese Bau (50 runs), Papua New Guinea managed to score 136 runs for 8 wickets. The difference between the two teams was clearly visible, but Bau (43 balls, six fours, one six) played a spirited half-century innings and played an important role in taking his team to this score. PNG's team was faltering after scoring 50 runs for 4 wickets. But Bau saved the team from collapsing early by sharing 44 runs with Charles Amini (12). Apart from Bau, wicketkeeper batsman Kiplin Doriga contributed an unbeaten 25 runs off 17 balls. Captain Assad Wala scored 21 runs.

Russell and Joseph took 2 wickets each
Andre Russell and Alzari Joseph took two wickets each for West Indies. West Indies expected turn from the pitch, so after winning the toss, they invited the opposition team to bat first and fielded three spinners. Spin-friendly conditions were clearly visible in the first over of Akil Hussain. However, the first wicket went to fast bowler Romario Shepherd, who got Tony Ura caught behind the wicket. Hussain dismissed number three player Lega Siaka with an arm ball.

After completing his half-century, Bau became the victim of Joseph
Alzari Joseph sent PNG captain Assad Vala (22 balls, 21 runs) to the pavilion. Vala hit two excellent shots in the cover area, but he was caught by Roston Chase at backward point. Vala's six over extra cover off spinner Roston Chase was one of the best shots of PNG's innings. Then Bau continued to strengthen PNG's innings by hitting boundaries in between and became Alzari Joseph's second victim as soon as he completed his half-century.

tag: Alzari Joseph, Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, T20 World Cup, West Indies