Nicholas Pooran-led West Indies faced a reality check ahead of T20 World Cup 2022. The two-time T20 World Cup champions may have a hard time advancing into the Super 12 stage of the tournament if they continue at this pace. Against, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Caribbean batters struggled to score and suffered a collapse in the powerplay overs and slog overs. If not for the partnership between Brandon King and skipper Pooran, West Indies would have suffered a shock defeat in Melbourne.
UAE skipper Chundangapoyil Rizwan won the toss and opted to field first. In the powerplay overs, Kashif Daud got rid of Evin Leiws in the second over. Johnson Charles got bowled by Junaid Siddique whereas Shamarh Brooks became Zahoor Khan's first victim of the day. In the fifth over, West Indies were struggling for 22/3 and needed a partnership to rebuild their innings.
King and Pooran stood up to the task. They shared a 97-run partnership for the fourth wicket. With two set batters in the middle ahead of slog overs, West Indies would have backed themselves to get a big score. Zahoor returned to the attack and dismissed Pooran. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 46 runs from 31 deliveries including five sixes.
In the next over, Siddique returned and got the wickets of Raymon Reifer (1), King and Akeal Hosein (0) to push West Indies on the back foot. The no.3 batter scored 64 runs from 45 deliveries including seven fours and two sixes.
In the slog overs, West Indies struggled. Yannic Cariah getting retired hurt did not help their chances either. In his next over, Siddique got through Odean Smith as well. Alzarri Joseph scored 15 runs from 11 deliveries. In the end, Rovman Powell hit a six to help West Indies get over the 150-mark. At the end of first innings, they managed to post 152/9.
Siddique was sensational for UAE as he got a fifer in his quota of four overs and conceded just 13 runs. Had this been a T20I and not a warm-up match, his bowling figures would be the best for UAE in the format.
Chasing 153, UAE did not start off either. Their star opener Chirag Suri was dismissed by Obed McCoy in the third over. Wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind played too many dot balls and succumbed to the pressure in the ninth over. Aravind just scored nine runs from 19 deliveries and lost his wicket to Reifer. UAE's middle-order could not cope up with the scoreboard pressure as Muhammad Waseem searched for a reliable partner. From 50/1, they were reduced to 66/5 in the 13th over.
In the 16th over, they had 82 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets. Waseem and Zawar Farid decided to swing their blade at everything in the slog overs. The required run rate was too much to keep up with. Waseem remained unbeaten for 69 off 52 balls including four fours and three sixes. Farid played a brilliant cameo as he scored 29 runs from just 14 deliveries including four fours and one six.
