The West Indies began their warm-ups for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia on a winning note earlier this evening, getting the better of a game the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 17 runs.
Sent into bat at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, the West Indies were made to suffer with only Brandon King (64) and captain Nicholas Pooran (46), really impacting the scoreboard, as the regional side stuttered to 152 for nine from their 20 overs.
In reply, the UAE, despite not losing as many wickets, never fared much better, getting to 135 for six, thanks to Muhammad Waseem’s unbeaten 69 from 52 deliveries. Zawar Farid’s lower-order hitting (29 from 14 balls) made the game interesting.
King, the bright spark of the West Indies innings, got to his tally from just 45 balls, smashing seven fours and two sixes, while Pooran, whose 46 came off 31 deliveries, smashed five maximums for his total.
The two thrived despite the bowling of Junaid Siddique, who was remarkable in his four overs, bagging five wickets for just 13 runs. Junaid was ably assisted Zahoor Khan, who ended with figures of 2-24.
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When the West Indies bowled, the UAE batters found Raymon Reifer difficult to contend with, the medium pacer, ending with 3-17 from his four overs, while Odean Smith was unusually stingy, claiming one scalp for just 20 runs from his four.
Obed McCoy came in for some amount of stick, going for 65 runs, though he was responsible for the scalp of Chirag Suri at the top of the order.
The West Indies will next be in action on Wednesday when they face the Netherlands at the MCG in Melbourne.