The Windies secured a thrilling victory by 5 wickets in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 against Papua New Guinea. Chasing a target of 137, West Indies batsmen faced some early hiccups, losing 5 wickets before the 20th over.
However, a cool-headed 42-run knock (27 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) from Roston Chase, along with Andre Russell’s cameo (15 runs), steered the Windies home. Openers Brandon King (34 runs) and Johnson Charles (0 runs) got them off to a mixed start, but Nicholas Pooran (27 runs) and Rovman Powell (15 runs) chipped in with valuable contributions.
Earlier, Papua New Guinea, put into bat, managed only 136 runs on the board. Sese Bau’s gritty half-century (50 runs) was the highlight of their innings. Andre Russell and Alzarri Joseph led the West Indian bowling attack with two wickets apiece.
Despite the modest target, Papua New Guinea bowlers, particularly Assad Vala (2 wickets), kept the Windies batsmen in check for a large part of the chase.
This victory marks a winning start for the West Indies in Group C, which also includes Afghanistan, New Zealand, and Uganda. In the meantime, the group stage continues with Oman facing Namibia in Group B today. Nepal will begin their campaign against the Netherlands on June 4th.
