King insists Windies ‘played well in patches’ after 38-run loss to Afghanistan in 1st T20I

Afghanistan 181 for three (Zadran 87*, Rasooli 84, Seales 1-30) beat West Indies 143 for nine (Sampson 30, Motie 28, Rahman 3-36) by 38 runs 

The West Indies suffered a 38-run defeat to Afghanistan in the first T20I in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday. Half-centuries from opener Ibrahim Zadran and Darwish Rasooli, followed by a complete bowling display that was led by Ziaur Rahman and complemented by their spinners, helped Afghanistan to a clinical win over the Caribbean side. 

Everything about the West Indies, on the other hand, seemed unsettled. Stand-in captain Brandon King rued his team’s inability to put together a complete display. “We showed glimpses of good cricket, but it wasn't good enough,” he said.

Gudakesh Motie’s rushing throw from mid-on, which found Rahmanullah Gurbaz short of his ground off the first ball of the contest, had given the visitors the perfect start. Windies had a second when Sediqullah Atal was brilliantly caught by King for 2 in the third over off the bowling of Jayden Seales, leaving Afghanistan 19 for 2. 

The West Indies would fail to make any further inroads for some time, and through the Zadran/Rasooli partnership, Afghanistan managed to finish the powerplay with 51 runs on the board. The pair shared in a 162-run third-wicket stand, upping the scoring rate through the middle overs as the Caribbean side failed to pull things back.

Despite claiming just the three wickets, King wasn’t overly perturbed by the bowling effort. “Our bowlers overall didn't do too badly; they did well in patches,” King said. 

Windies were, however, sloppy in the field. They had chances, of which they spilt three. Both Zadran and Rasooli were granted reprieves in the 18th over when the latter was put down by Motie on 73 before Evin Lewis dropped Zadran on 68 two balls later. Zadran, who finished unbeaten on 87, was given another life in the 19th, this time by Shimron Hetmyer on the long-off boundary. 

West Indies finally held on to a catch when Matthew Forde had Rasooli caught off the last delivery of the innings for 84 as Afghanistan finished on 181 for 3. 

Although the West Indies got up to 143 for 9 in their response, they were almost never in the chase. King was bowled by off-spinner Mujeeb (2/29) for 4 in the first over, while Lewis, who needed 11 balls for his 4, was dismissed by seamer Rahman (3/36) in the fifth. 

Johnson Charles was adjudged lbw three balls later for a 16-ball 27 before Hetmyer fell victim to wrist-spinner Rashid Khan (2/19) immediately after the powerplay, leaving the West Indies 47 for 4 after seven overs.

The highlight of the West Indies innings came from debutant Quentin Sampson, who shared in a 45-run sixth-wicket partnership with Forde (25). Sampson also top-scored with 30 from 24. He and fellow Guyanese Motie (28 from 15) hit two sixes and two fours each, but the mountain was too steep for West Indies, whose chase faded with wickets falling at regular intervals. 

Six of the nine wickets fell to spin, an area for which King admits the West Indies must devise a plan if they are to get back into the series. “Afghanistan is a team that has quite a few good spinners,” he said. “We will talk about it on the day off and review the game.”