T20 World Cup 2024: West Indies Keep Semi-Final Hopes Alive With Thumping Win Over USA

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Shai Hope and Roston Chase starred as West Indies kept their semi-final hopes alive after a thumping 9-wicket victory over USA at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Friday (June 21) night.

After Chase's 3 for 19 and Andre Russell's 3 for 31 helped bundle out USA for a meagre 128 in 19.5 overs, Hope (82* off 39 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (27* off 12 balls) powered West Indies past the target with 9.1 overs to spare.

Hope and Pooran added 63 runs off 29 balls to finish the run chase in a hurry. The duo smashed 11 sixes and 5 fours during their stay at the crease. Hope had earlier shared a 67-run stand with Johnson Charles for the opening wicket.

Charles (15 off 14 balls) also made a contribution with the bat before falling to Harmeet Singh, the lone wicket-taker for USA as West Indies boosted their net run rate (NRR) after making lightwork of the chase.

Earlier, put into bat, USA had got a decent start in the powerplay with Andries Gous (29 off 16 balls) and Nitish Kumar (20 off 19 balls) taking the team to 51 for 1. But Gudakesh Motie (1 for 14) instigated a mini collapse with the removal of Nitish.

From 51 for 1, USA collapsed to 88 for 6 with Chase running through the middle-order, including the dangerous Aaron Jones and Corey Anderson. Milind Kumar (19 off 21 balls) and Shadley van Schalkwyk (18 off 17 balls) showed some fight to take the total above 100.

Ali Khan (14* off 5 balls) ensured USA posted 128. For West Indies, Alzarri Joseph (2 for 31) was also among the wickets with Chase, Russell and Motie, but Akeal Hosein remained wicket-less alongside Obed McCoy.

With this result, West Indies edge above South Africa in terms of NRR before the two teams meet in a possible eliminator on Sunday (June 23) at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua & Barbuda.

It's still not the end of the road for USA, who will face England in their final Super 8 match on Sunday (June 23) in Barbados. But the tourament co-hosts face a monumental task of beating the defending champions by a huge margin to keep their slim hopes of a semi-final alive.