It wasn’t pretty, but they got it done. West Indies slogged themselves to a hard-fought win against an unexpected Papua New Guinea side that put up a fight for the longest.
A subpar start, turned into a resilient innings from Papua New Guinea helped them put up 136 runs on the board.
The star of the innings for PNG was none other than Sese Bau, who played through a rough period with composure and patience to reach a well-deserved fifty. Valuable innings from the likes of Assad Vala and Kiplin Doriga aided the newcomers in putting up 136 runs on the board, well beyond anyone’s expectations.
And West Indies, for all their assumed superiority found themselves struggling till the very end, when a fiery blitz from the likes of Roston Chase and Andre Russell helped them cross the line in the 19th over to clinch a 5-wicket win.
Chase undoubtedly shone with the bat, as he notched up an unbeaten 42* off 27 balls and also bowled a fairly economical spell in the first innings. This ultimately led to him clinching the Player of the Match award for West Indies.
“Very pleased to start the tournament with a win and to take the team over the line. I knew that it was hard for the batters coming in, gave myself time and backed my skills. I watched the PNG batters, they took their time and once they got in it was easy to score. I have worked hard, had a preparation camp in Antigua and brought that confidence into the game,” said Chase in a post-match interview after receiving the POTM award.
“We don’t want to take any team lightly, they (PNG) are here which means they are deserving, we want to play the same way we would play India or Australia,” added a cautious and calculated Chase.
West Indies are set to take on Uganda in their second game of the campaign on June 9 next