Eighties from Ibrahim Zadran and Darwish Rasooli followed by a clinical bowling display set up Afghanistan’s 38-run win over the West Indies in the first T20I at Dubai. Opting to bat first, Afghanistan posted a sizeable 181/3 before their bowlers stalled the Windies’ chase with regular wickets.
Afghanistan found themselves in trouble early after Rahmanullah Gurbaz was run-out attempting a quick single off the very first delivery. While Ibrahim Zadran started well, with a boundary off Hayden Seales in the first over and two more off Matthew Forde in the second, Afghanistan found themselves 19/2 when Seales removed Sediqullah Atal in the third.
There was no looking back once Darwish Rasooli joined Ibrahim at the crease though. They pounced on some indifferent bowling and took Afghanistan to 53/2 at the end of the PowerPlay. The eighth over started and ended with a six as the duo raised their 50-run stand.
The onslaught continued and the West Indies had no answers. Both Ibrahim and Rasooli brought up fifties in consecutive overs and enjoyed their fair share of luck as the innings progressed. The West Indies dropped three catches in total within the space of an over and only managed to end the 162-run stand, which included 16 fours and five sixes, off the final delivery of the innings. By then, Afghanistan had already reached 181/3, picking off 53 runs off the last five overs.
The Windies’ chase could never sustain momentum. Brandon King was knocked over by Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the very first over and two tight overs from Azmatullah Omarzai helped build pressure. Johnson Charles looked threatening during his 16-ball 27, striking three fours and two sixes, but Mujeeb trapped him LBW in the sixth over. By then, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi had already dismissed a struggling Evin Lewis.
45/3 in the PowerPlay quickly became 50/5 as Rashid Khan dismissed Shimron Hetmyer and Amir Jangoo in successive overs. There were hopes of a revival during a 45-run stand between debutant Queintin Samspon and Forde as they took the attack to Afghanistan, striking three fours and three sixes. Gudakesh Motie sustained the tempo with his 15-ball 28 once Samspon fell in the 15th over and stitched a 37-run stand with Forde.
All hopes, however, were extinguished when Noor Ahmad dismissed both Forde and Motie in the space of three deliveries in the 18th over. Sharifi picked up the final wicket to fall, that of Khary Pierre in the 20th, to finish with figures of 3-36 while the West Indies stumbled along to 143/9.
Brief Scores: Afghanistan 181/3 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 87*, Darwish Rasooli 84; Jayden Seales 1-30) beat West Indies 143/9 (Quentin Sampson 30; Ziaur Rahman Sharifi 3-36, Rashid Khan 2-19) by 38 runs
