Afghanistan defeated in-form West Indies by 3 wickets to grab a crucial victory in the Super Sixes round on Thursday.
The Afghan spin trio of Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Zadran, and Rashid Khan got six wickets amongst them and restricted West Indies to a mere 197 runs. While chasing, Afghanistan started the innings shakily but were able to get past the opposition by 3 wickets and 14 balls to spare.
After winning the toss, West Indies elected to bat first. Afghan spinners were too hot to handle and troubled the Windies batsmen.
Nabi clicked his 100th ODI wicket becoming the first Afghan to achieve the feat. Jason Holder (26) came as a ray of hope for the Windies but later became a victim of Zadran. The lower order tried to restore their innings but were unable to take the total beyond 200.
While chasing, Afghanistan lost both their openers at the score of 17, but the middle order was steady. Rahmat Shah (68) continued to tick the scoreboard with Shenwari and Nabi. Afghanistan stuttered a bit but Rashid Khan’s unbeaten 13 was enough to take them over the finishing line.
Brief scores
West Indies 197 for 9 in 50 overs (Evin Lewis 27, Marlon Samuels 36, Shai Hope 43; Mujeeb Zadran 3 for 33, Mohammad Nabi 2 for 43) lost to Afghanistan 198 for 7 in 47.4 overs (Rahmat Shah 68, Mohammad Nabi 31, Najibullah Zadran 19, Rashid Khan 13*; Jason Holder 3 for 39, Keemo Paul 2 for 29) by 3 wickets
Man of the Match:Â Mujeeb Zadran