T20 World Cup 2024: West Indies Take Momentum Into Super 8 With Thumping Win Over Afghanistan

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Nicholas Pooran and all-round bowling effort helped West Indies register a massive 104-run win over Afghanistan at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in the final group stage game before the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024.

After Pooran's brutal assault of 98 runs propelled West Indies to 218/5 in their allotted 20 overs, Obed McCoy (3 for 14 in 3 overs) led the destruction with the ball as Afghanistan folded for 114 in 16.2 overs.

Apart from Ibrahim Zadran (38 off 28 balls) and Azmatullah Omarzai (23 off 19 balls) none of the other Afghan batters got to terms in the huge run chase as West Indies bowlers managed to pick wickets in regular intervals.

While McCoy, who played his first game of the tournament, finished the top wicket-taker for West Indies, spin duo Akeal Hosein (2 for 21) and Gudakesh Motie (2 for 28) also picked a couple of wickets.

Alzarri Joseph and Andre Russell also picked a wicket each as West Indies head into the Super 8 stage undefeated, having registered wins over New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Uganda earlier in Group C.

Earlier, put into bat, West Indies notched up the highest first-innings total in the ongoing marquee event and their highest total in the T20 World Cups. They also registered the highest powerplay score in T20 World Cup history.

After Brandon King's second-over wicket, Johnson Charles (43 off 27 balls) and Pooran both accelerated into top gear in the blink of an eye. The duo then scored 36 runs off Omarzai's bowling.

Following Charles' dismissal, Pooran shared stands with Shai Hope (25 off 17 balls) and skipper Rovman Powell (26 off 15 balls) to take West Indies past 200. The southpaw, however, fell just short of a well-deserved century.

Following the match, Pooran, who won the player of the match award, felt it was not good to be run out close to a personal milestone, but the left-handed batter said it was all about reaching a respectable total.

"You don't want to be on 97 and get run-out but it was all about reaching a respectable total. I assessed the conditions early on, we had a good start in the powerplay, I had to take the responsibility in the middle overs with the Afghanistan spinners bowling," Pooran said at the post-match presentation.

"I just felt that it's my night and I could get on with it. It's difficult to strike the ball when it's a little slow and spinning, but when you get a good wicket like this, you got to capitalise, got to appreciate the conditions.

"It's just not today, it started 12-14 months ago we have been consistent as a team, we went to No. 3 in the rankings. In the last game, Rutherford took the opportunity and played wonderfully, he inspired us."

For Afghanistan, Gulbadin Naib (2 for 14 in 2 overs) was the pick of the bowlers, while Omarzai and Naveen-ul-Haq claimed a wicket each, but the two pacers were on the expensive side, conceding 41 runs each in their spell.