Chasing a target of 129, West Indies were powered to a nine-wicket victory over the USA in their Super 8 game by Shai Hope, who blasted a 39-ball 82 (with eight sixes and four fours). Hope had reached his half century off just 26 balls.
The result means that West Indies are now second in the standings in Group 2, behind South Africa who have won both their games.
But more importantly, West Indies have the best NRR at the moment in Group 2 with 1.81! Even South Africa have a NRR of 0.63 while England’s NRR is 0.41.
Earlier, USA could only manage to set a target of 129 in their Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. The American side slipped from 50/1 at one stage to 65/4 in the blink of an eye in the first innings of their match after being asked to bat first by West Indies captain Rovman Powell.
The toss for the game was delayed because of light rain at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday. The game will proceed as per schedule but with the threat of rain a constant for the rest of the evening.
The Windies already have their back against the wall after witnessing their undefeated streak get broken by England in their first Super 8 encounter and can’t afford any more bumps in the road in their quest for a third T20 World Cup title.
USA, meanwhile, have been meandering along since their back to back wins against Canada and Pakistan with their last Group match against Ireland getting washed out.
They came very close to shocking South Africa in their first Super 8 match while giving India a run for their money in the group stage so it’ll be premature to write them off just yet.