ICC World Cup T20 Qualifiers: Qualifier matches in this T20 World Cup 2022 are nothing less than thrillers. The West Indies record their first victory to keep pace with the other teams in Group B. The team won the match by 31 runs. They defend the target of 154 against Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s Failed Chase
With Alzarri Joseph setting the tempo for a burst of great speed and animosity, their pacers surged through Zimbabwe to flip the chase on its head. Zimbabwe batted really badly and without any effort. After a fast start, they were far ahead of the pace, but they continued to take high-risk strokes even though they were quickly losing wickets.
For ZIM, highest scorers were Jongwe and Madhvere, who scored 26 and 29 respectively. None of the batters scored above 30. Their bowlers fared well initially to restrict West Indies to 153 runs, but once Joseph and company scared the hitters, they capitulated.
West Indies’ 1st Innings Comeback
Powell’s two sixes in the penultimate over have helped West Indies reach 150. On what is a good pitch, as we saw in the earlier game, it’s still a small score. West Indies lost their way after a promising start from Charles, and this is another another uninspiring effort with the bat from them. They were stopped by Raza’s outstanding bowling performance on 3/19, which made it easy for Zimbabwe to make it two wins in a row.
What Captains Said:
WI Captain
West Indies’ captain Nicholas Pooran talked about the exciting win. He said, “We spoke yesterday and had to be responsible as a batting group. Enough is enough. We have been failing in the middle overs. We tried to be a bit conservative in the middle overs. At times like this, we need to create our own luck, Akeal and Rovman putting on that partnership at the end.”
“Obviously the energy with the ball after those first two overs, credit to them making our own luck. We spoke about the process and trusting our process with Kyle Mayers bowling the new ball because he’s the only one swinging the new ball. It hasn’t come off yet but we’ll keep supporting him. We’re coming together nicely as a bowling group. We’re still searching for wickets in the Powerplay.”
ZIM Captain
Talking about the bowling, he said. “Jason put his hand up as our most experienced bowler here so it’s nice to see him performing the way he is. Alzarri Joseph, it’s not just now but since the beginning of the year he’s been our best bowler in T20 cricket. Bowling 140+, getting wickets for us and bringing that energy, it’s an exciting time for West Indies cricket. When we lose games, people are going to bash us. If we fall, we need to pick ourselves back up. We need to create that winning culture and winning atmosphere. I’m working really hard day in and day out. Everything happens for a reason. We came out on the winning side today.”
The losing side, Zimbabwe’s stand-in captain Regis Chakabva talked about the disappointing loss. He said, “I thought that our bowlers stuck to their plan and the process that we came in with, just trying to hit our areas especially the spinners. The bowlers did pretty well to pull it back. We would have been happy from 72 to restrict them to 150 as we did. Our team went in with the confidence that we’d get there.”
“We lost one too many wickets in the first 10 overs. Credit to West Indies and Alzarri Joseph. He opened up the gates for them and bowled brilliantly. I thought the pitch played very well throughout and didn’t think conditions changed at all. The boys are still pretty confident. We’re not happy of how short we end up being after such a good start but we’ll look to bounce back on Friday.”
Who will qualify from Group B for ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12?
The best NRR in the group belongs to Scotland, followed by Zimbabwe, the West Indies, and Ireland. Therefore, if all of Friday’s games are postponed, Scotland and Zimbabwe progress. In the event that Scotland vs. Zimbabwe is called off but the West Indies vs. Ireland game goes on, Scotland will advance together with the winner of that game. I’ll be representing the West Indies and moving on alongside the winner of Scotland vs. Zimbabwe if West Indies vs. Ireland is called off and Scotland vs Zimbabwe is played instead.
