Half a century for Evin Lewis and a three-goal shot by Kesrick Williams helped the West Indies in the first of three T20Is to a 30-run victory over Afghanistan.
After winning the litter and choosing the Bowl, Afghanistan hit early. Mujeeb Ur Rahman prevailed in the first round against debutant Brandon King before Shimron Hetmyer and Lewis put down a strong 87-run stand for the second wicket.
Lewis was the attacker, falling from 41 balls to 68 and by then had scored more than two-thirds of his team’s runs, while Hetmyer was a bit calmer and his 21 landed a ball all at once.
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Denesh Ramdin hit at a similar pace and it seemed the hosts would find their way back, but Kieron Pollard, who scored 32 points out of 22 in the T20I captain’s debut, made his team strong. Gulbadin Naib, who demanded 2/24 after the absence of the last two ODIs, was the choice of bowlers, while opener Mujeeb and Mohammad Nabi were thrifty and scored 46 runs from their combined seven overs.
Afghanistan slipped to 2: 7 at the start of the hunt for 165 and never got going. The battles were reflected in the fact that four batsmen made between 20 and 30. The normally explosive Hazratullah Zazai was reassured and picked up 29 balls for his 23 The 30-round lead flattered the hosts, only diminished by Fareed Ahmad’s belated punches
Williams was the choice of bowlers who scored 3/17 out of four overs, while Pollards 2/17 did an outstanding all-round day. Sheldon Cottrell was miserable and his two Overs rewarded him with 1/5.
The series will continue on Saturday, November 16, at the same location.
