Published: Nov 06, 2019, 11:10 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 06, 2019, 11:10 PM (IST)
Roston Chase missed his maiden ODI century by six runs, while opener Shai Hope played a brilliant knock of unbeaten 77 as West Indies produced an all-round effort to register a comfortable seven-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first ODI on Wednesday. Courtesy this win, West Indies have taken a 1-0 lead over Afghanistan in the three-match series.
After opting to field first, West Indies bowlers produced a disciplined show to bundle out Afghanistan for 194 in 45.2 overs. Jason Holder (2/21), Chase (2/31) and Romario Shepherd (2/32) shared six wickets among them to rock the Afghans. Rahmat Shah (61), wicket-keeper batsman Ikram Alikhil (58) and Asghar Afghan (35) were the notable scorers for Afghanistan, who has chosen Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium as their new home venue.
It’s a win for West Indies!
An ODI career-best 94 from Roston Chase guides them to victory over Afghanistan by seven wickets 👏 👏 pic.twitter.com/aJxa0hWJMW
ICC (@ICC) November 6, 2019
It was Alikhil’s run-out that disturbed the momentum of Afghan innings and eventually proved to be the turning point.
He was given out in controversial circumstances – the batsman left his crease to congratulate Rahmat on his fifty with the ball still in play. And when wicketkeeper Hope broke the stumps and West Indies appealed, umpires ruled Alikhil out.
During the chase of 195, West Indies did not got off to a great start during the chase as they lost wickets of Evin Lewis (7) and Shimron Hetmyer (3) at the score of 25 in 7.4 overs.
But then, Hope (77*) and Chase (94) joined hands and stitched 163 runs for the third wicket to lay the foundation for West Indies victory as they reached 197 for three in 46.3 overs. Spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/33) picked up two wickets for Afghanistan.
The second ODI of the series will be played at the same venue on Saturday.
