143/9 (20.0)
CR : 7.15
181/3 (20.0)
CR : 9.05
Afghanistan won by 38 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Darwish Rasooli
84(59)
19.6
0
Sharifi to S Joseph
Full and just outside the leg stump. Shamar swings across and misses through to the keeper. Gurbaz collects the ball and hits the stumps at the striker's end.
Over 20
West Indies 143/9
Shamar Joseph4(5)
Jayden Seales3(2)
Ziaur Rahman Sharifi3-36(4.0)
AFG won by 38 runs
11:27 PM IST, 9:57 PM Local Time: Commanding win for Afghanistan in the series opener against the West Indies! 38-run victory for the Atalan after they won the toss elected to bat and deposited 181/3 in 20 overs, restricting West Indies for 143/9.
Afghanistan lost a wicket on the very first ball but a magnificent 162 run stand for the 3rd wicket between Ibrahim Zadran (87*) and Darwish Rasooli (84) helped them achieve the match-winning score.
West Indies never looked in good form with the bat and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Debutant Quentin Sampson top scored with 30 in 24 balls, Gudakesh Motie smashed 2 sixes in his 15-ball 28, Johnson Charles hit 27 off 16 and Matthew Forde scored 25. Only these 4 batters could score into double digits.
Azmatullah Omarzai bowled a magnificent spell in the powerplay with Mujeeb Ur Rahman getting 2 wickets in the powerplay as well before he finished with 2/29. Ziaur Rahman Sharifi conceded 16 in his first over but picked up Evin Lewis's wicket as well before claiming 2 more wickets to finish with his career-best 3/36.
Captain Rashid Khan commanded his troops with distinction bowling a spell of 2/19. A good mix of spin and pace never allowed the Windies batters to settle with only the 6th wicket pair of Sampson and Forde managing to add 45 runs in 5.4 overs.
Afghanistan take a healthy 1-0 lead in the series with a couple more matches slated to be played on the same venue. Stay tuned as we return with the post match presentation.
Afghanistan lost a wicket on the very first ball but a magnificent 162 run stand for the 3rd wicket between Ibrahim Zadran (87*) and Darwish Rasooli (84) helped them achieve the match-winning score.
West Indies never looked in good form with the bat and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Debutant Quentin Sampson top scored with 30 in 24 balls, Gudakesh Motie smashed 2 sixes in his 15-ball 28, Johnson Charles hit 27 off 16 and Matthew Forde scored 25. Only these 4 batters could score into double digits.
Azmatullah Omarzai bowled a magnificent spell in the powerplay with Mujeeb Ur Rahman getting 2 wickets in the powerplay as well before he finished with 2/29. Ziaur Rahman Sharifi conceded 16 in his first over but picked up Evin Lewis's wicket as well before claiming 2 more wickets to finish with his career-best 3/36.
Captain Rashid Khan commanded his troops with distinction bowling a spell of 2/19. A good mix of spin and pace never allowed the Windies batters to settle with only the 6th wicket pair of Sampson and Forde managing to add 45 runs in 5.4 overs.
Afghanistan take a healthy 1-0 lead in the series with a couple more matches slated to be played on the same venue. Stay tuned as we return with the post match presentation.
Player of the Match: Darwish Rasooli
Darwish Rasooli (Player of the Match): "[conversation with Ibrahim during partnership] The plan was simple to go out there and spend as much time as possible. Take it deep and then play with freedom.
[on whether targeting the leg stump was the game plan] I just played my natural game and played my own shots. If it was there I will hit it irrespective whether it's a big boundary or a small boundary.
[on the upcoming T20 WC] It's a good start for us and I will try my best to continue."
[on whether targeting the leg stump was the game plan] I just played my natural game and played my own shots. If it was there I will hit it irrespective whether it's a big boundary or a small boundary.
[on the upcoming T20 WC] It's a good start for us and I will try my best to continue."
Brandon King (West Indies Captain): "[thoughts on the game] Very disappointing to lose a game. Short glimpses of good cricket.
[on playing spin ] Afghanistan has quite a good spinners. We will review the game and look to improve for the next game.
[on the captaincy] I enjoyed the captaincy. Our bowlers overall didn't do too badly. We need to restrict them to a lower total consistently."
[on playing spin ] Afghanistan has quite a good spinners. We will review the game and look to improve for the next game.
[on the captaincy] I enjoyed the captaincy. Our bowlers overall didn't do too badly. We need to restrict them to a lower total consistently."
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan Captain): "[on deciding to bat first] The bowling unit we have, batting first gives us a great opportunity. We don't think much about batting first or second as long as we bring our best skills on the ground.
[on coming back to lead Afghanistan after playing all over the world] Very proud to put on the Afghanistan jersey. As a team we are looking fit and we will have a good World Cup.
[on the team combination] We want to go with our proper playing XI - what will be the best for us in India. These 3 games are a good opportunity for us. We will go with the same energy."
[on coming back to lead Afghanistan after playing all over the world] Very proud to put on the Afghanistan jersey. As a team we are looking fit and we will have a good World Cup.
[on the team combination] We want to go with our proper playing XI - what will be the best for us in India. These 3 games are a good opportunity for us. We will go with the same energy."
That's it from our coverage of the first T20 international between Afghanistan and West Indies from Dubai! A clinical win for the Afghans as they outperform the men in Maroon in all the departments to go 1-0 up. The 2nd game will be played on the same ground on Wednesday. Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Dev Rajawat, scorer Zeeshan Naiyer and statistician Aman. Stay tuned for more action from around the world.