As the hosts fielded in Guyana to start the competition, Andre Russell took his 50th wicket in a Twenty20 international match.
In Guyana, West Indies v. Papua New Guinea
West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl first.
The co-hosts of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, the West Indies, were reassured by Roston Chase and Andre Russell as they successfully chased down a target of 137, winning by five wickets against Papua New Guinea.
50 years old for Sese Bau
Sese Bau, who spearheaded the comeback after dropping the first two wickets to manage 136/8, was largely responsible for setting a manageable mark for Papua New Guinea to chase.
After Tony Ura was caught behind by Pooran off Romario Shepherd, Bau walked to the crease. Three balls later, Lega Siaka followed after a stunning angled delivery from Akeal Hosein.
He also scored fifty runs, his fourth in the format for his nation, with six fours and a six, before Alzarri Joseph bowled him with three and a half overs left.
Earlier, Charles Amini faltered at number twelve, allowing Andre Russell to claim his 50th wicket of the T20 international season.
Early tremble for the Caribbean
The West Indies were maybe not as confident in their response as they would have liked.
Alei Nao had already struck in the second over, lbw Johnson Charles for a duck. Had he chosen to review another lbw call against Nicholas Pooran, which ball-tracking indicated would have hit the stumps, he may have had another.
After making 34 runs off of 29 balls off the bowling of skipper Assad Vala, Brandon King made some progress. Lega Siaka then caught his skid shot.
Prior to his ejection, Nicholas Pooran contributed a crucial 27 runs and was caught by Tony Ura off a John Kariko delivery.
But after losing Sherfane Rutherford and Rovman Powell in the last four overs, West Indies found themselves at 97/5, and there were undoubtedly some nervousness in the camp.
Chase (42*)* and Russell (15) were left to finish it, and they succeeded in doing so to give the co-hosts a strong start.
“I’m overjoyed. It is usually a good idea to begin the tournament with a win. I did what I had to do to bring it home for the team,” Chase remarked later.
Assad Vala, the captain of Papua New Guinea, expressed his team’s satisfaction despite being clearly dissatisfied with the outcome, saying, “We were very happy with the way we fought – we got wickets at key moments.”
