ICC Men's T20 WC'24: Pooran Leads West Indies to Big Win Against Afghanistan

Nicholas Pooran's impressive 98 and Obed McCoy's three-wicket haul propelled the West Indies to a commanding 104-run victory over Afghanistan in the final group stage match of the T20 World Cup at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium. Batting first, Pooran scored 98 off 53 balls, while Johnson Charles added 43 off 27, leading the West Indies to a total of 218/5. This was the highest score by any team in this edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, surpassing Sri Lanka's 201/6 against the Netherlands at the same venue and Australia's 201/7 against England in Barbados.

Pooran's outstanding 98 was the highest score by any player at this T20 World Cup, surpassing the unbeaten 94 from USA's Aaron Jones put together against Canada in Dallas. Moreover, Pooran overtook Chris Gayle for the most sixes by a West Indies player in Men's T20I history. In response, Afghanistan posted 114 in 16.2 overs to suffer their first loss of the 2024 edition of the T2 World Cup.

Charles struck three boundaries in the third over, which inspired Pooran to do something truly out of this world at the change of ends. The keeper-batter exploded, producing a 36-run over off Azmatullah Omarzai’s bowling. It’s the fifth time in Men’s T20I history an over has gone for 36 runs, the second time at a Men’s World Cup. The final six of the Omarzai over saw the partnership reach 50. The pair continued with the onslaught and surged West Indies to 92/1 at the six-over mark, the biggest Powerplay total in Men’s T20 World Cup history.

Shai Hope's quick-fire 25 off 17 balls helped maintain a double-digit run rate, with Pooran reaching his half-century in the 14th over, having taken just 31 balls. It was Pooran's first fifty in a T20 World Cup. Between overs 12 to 15, boundaries were scarce, and the hosts' run rate dropped below 10. Afghanistan's bowlers were in control until Rovman Powell's six at the start of the 16th over pushed the Windies past 150. Pooran then took 24 runs off Rashid Khan in the 18th over, with Khan finishing with 0/45 from his four overs. Powell was dismissed for 26 off 15 balls in the 19th over, bringing Andre Russell to the crease.

Russell aimed to get Pooran back on strike, as Pooran needed 15 runs for a century at the start of the final over. Pooran hit two sixes and a single but was run out for 98 off 53 balls by a brilliant throw from Omarzai. The West Indies ended their innings at 218/5, their highest score in T20 World Cup history and the tournament's biggest total so far. Chasing a formidable target, Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0 off 3) in the third over. Gulbadin Naib and Ibrahim Zadran guided Afghanistan to 45/1 by the end of the Powerplay. However, the Windies dominated the field, bowling Afghanistan out for 114, handing them their first defeat of this World Cup.