T20 World Cup 2024: West Indies vs Afghanistan, 40th Match – Who Said What?

The second leg of the ongoing T20 cricket spectacle is taking cricket enthusiasts and analysts by storm, signalling the start of the Caribbean carnival. At the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St. Lucia on Tuesday, June 16, the hosts, West Indies (WI), and Afghanistan (AFG), faced off in Match 40 of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

In the powerplay, West Indies hammered 92 runs.

Afghanistan, headed by Rashid Khan, chose to bowl first after winning the toss. When starter Brandon King was removed by all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai early in the innings, the decision first appeared to be justified. Along with his partner Johnson Charles, big-hitting West Indian Nicholas Pooran began playing around with the Afghan bowlers for amusement. As a result, the host once crushed Afghanistan for 92 runs in just six overs during the encounter.

During the T20 World Cup match, the crowd saw a Nicholas Pooran “special.”

So, when Nicholas Pooran (98 off 53 balls) embarrassed Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai by smashing 36 runs in the fourth over of the West Indies’ batting innings, it became a memorable occasion. Not only that, but on the way to his runfest, he managed to eclipse the “Universe Boss,” Chris Gayle, and take the record for most sixes hit for his country in T20I cricket.

It’s interesting to note that Azmatullah Omarzai was the one who produced the spectacular runout that resulted in the batter being out. Not only did Pooran contribute significantly, but other batters as well, including seasoned batter Shai Hope and captain Rovman Powell, kept the scoreboard moving.

Prior to the Super Eight stage, Afghanistan suffered a crushing setback.

Afghanistan appeared to have given in to the pressure of a high run rate as the West Indies set them a lofty target of 219 runs in response. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the in-form opener, was dismissed by Akeil Hosein (2/21) to give the home team an early advantage.

The Asian team appeared hurried to match the requested run pace after he left, as they continued to lose wickets often. To further reduce the slim possibilities of the Asian team making a comeback, another West Indian bowler, Obed McCoy (3/14) joined the fray and got a three-wicket haul.

To set an example for other teams before beginning their Super Eight campaign in the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2024 matches, the West Indies defeated Afghanistan by an overwhelming 104 runs in the end.

Also read: Rovman Powell says, “I think there’s always pressure, especially when you’re playing a World Cup at home,” prior to Afghanistan’s match

Nicholas Pooran, Player of the Match:

“He talks about the ebb and flow of his innings, here are some highlights from his quotes (not verbatim): “I had to see the conditions early and take responsibility. In West Indies people want fours and sixes but you can’t do that everytime, but when conditions allow, you should capitalise. We wanted to be consistent as a team from 12-14 months ago.”

Rashid Khan, Losing Captain:

“The way they batted, scoring around 90 runs in the powerplay, it is tough to come back from that. But in the middle overs we did well and it was good to restrict them under 200. But this game is good to understand mindset and strategy. Hope to not repeat. (Learnings) Good for us to keep it simple and not experiment. Better to stick with strengths on wickets like these than try too much.

Hope to do better when it comes to similar pitches. (Big loss will affect Afghanistan?) Don’t think so. We’ve achieved what we wanted – to get Super Eight. The different pitches coming up… we’ll adjust to them. Good learning this loss happened at this stage, not in a do-or-die game. We take the positives with us, like fielding, middle-overs bowling and Noor’s spell.”

Rovman Powell, Winning Captain:

“(On eight straight wins) Shows hard work is paying off. (Motivation) The guys were excited to come here. We knew here will be one of the better wickets of the competition. After Guyana and Trinidad, the batters wanted to come here and get runs. (Pooran) I think it is on the back of hard work. He has had a very good 12 months. Good to see him score runs not only in franchise cricket but also for WI.

(McCoy’s bowling today) When I was bowling, I was telling him that we now have a headache [when it comes to selection]. We are playing in the West Indies, and it is our responsibility to make full use of home conditions. (Home fans) When we started the journey, we were 8th or 9th in the world.

Now we are around 3rd in the world, and when you do well, the fans start believing. Guyana was lovely, Trinidad was a packed house, and to see the support St Lucia has given, it is amazing. (Sammy, head coach) I extend my thanks to him and our management. I have started as a young captain, but they have given me what I want. It has been a driving force in my success as a captain and in them believing in me as a leader.”