West Indies lose lone World Cup warm-up contest to Afghanistan 

Afghanistan 182 for 6 (Ibrahim 51, Gurbaz 43; Chase 1-18) beat West Indies 159 for 7 (Forde 52*, Powell 32; Mujeeb 2-19) by 23 runs 

The West Indies suffered a 23-run loss to Afghanistan in their only warm-up contest ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup on Wednesday at the BCCI Centre of Excellence 1 in Bengaluru, India, after a flurry of quick wickets stifled Shai Hope’s side’s chase of 183.

Afghanistan’s target was built on the foundations set by Ibrahim Zadran (51) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (43), who both maintained strike rates above 150 during their 90-run opening stand.

Azmatullah Omarzai’s 15-ball 35 provided the innings with impetus towards the end as three of Afghanistan’s batters retired out.

West Indies’ innings stuttered in response as they fell to 54 for five in the eighth over and 82 for seven in the 14th courtesy of an all-round effort from Afghanistan’s bowling attack.

Matthew Forde’s blistering unbeaten 52 only served to save his side from a heavy defeat, as the Caribbean side was defeated nonetheless.

The West Indies bowl off their World Cup campaign against Scotland at Eden Gardens on Saturday.