Published: Jun 06, 2017, 04:51 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 06, 2017, 04:51 PM (IST)
It was a one-man show at the Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts. as West Indies‘ Marlon Samuels blasted a 66-ball 89* in the third and final Twenty20 International (T20I) match against Afghanistan. After winning the toss, Afghanistan chose to bat and posted 146 for 6 in 20 overs, their best performance with the bat in the series. However, Samuels single-handedly bludgeoned the visitors, and West Indies pulled off a whitewash. With this win, West Indies will confidently enter the three ODIs to follow. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: West Indies vs Afghanistan, 3rd T20I
Afghanistan lost their first wicket early. Javed Ahmadi was dismissed for a 2-ball duck. Noor Ali Zadran (35) then formed a brief partnership with skipper Asghar Stanikzai 13). Later, Mohammad Nabi contributed with a handy 38, while Shafiqullah’s quickfire 15-ball 25 was a remarkable contribution down the order. For West Indies, Kesrick Williams picked up three-for.
Shapoor Zadran gave Afghanistan the first breakthrough off the second delivery, removing Chadwick Walton for a duck. Samuels came in next, and there was no stopping him afterwards. While he kept losing his partners at the other end, he himself kept going and brought victory to the hosts’ camp with 4 balls to spare. Rashid Khan was the most economical bowler for Afghanistan with 5.50, while Nabi was the third to get a wicket apart from Rashid and Shapoor.
“I know my role in this team and it was important to stay out there and ensure we got the target. Partnerships are important to any run chase and it was good that a couple of us worked together effectively,” Samuels said after the victory, reported AFP.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 146 for 6 in 20 overs (Noor Ali Zadran 35, Mohammad Nabi 38, Shafiqullah 25; Kesrick Williams 3 for 34) lost to West Indies 147 for 3 (Marlon Samuels 89*, Jason Mohammed 23*; Shapoor Zadran 1 for 27, Rashid Khan 1 for 22) by 7 wickets.
