An unbeaten knock of 27-ball 42 by Roston Chase, including four fours and two sixes. West Indies are off and running in the T20 World Cup 2024.
It was an interesting contest that, before play, appeared to be one-sided. Although PNG deserves praise for their amazing effort, the target was too low. This is what you expect to see at the T20 World Cup 2024.
Although West Indies, the co-hosts of the T20 World Cup 2024, did not enjoy the kind of assured start to the tournament that they had hoped for, they managed to avoid adding to an embarrassing record of upsets in a format that they had previously dominated. In Providence, Guyana, Papua New Guinea nearly forced the match to a fifth over, but Roston Chase’s unbeaten 42 off 27 proved to be the game-winning stroke.
After PNG captain Assad Vala removed Sherfane Rutherford after the 16th over, the West Indies were down five and required 40 from the final 24 deliveries.
After he had steadied the batting as wickets were falling all around him, Chase then accelerated through the gears. The No. 4 player for the West Indies, who is favored above Shimron Hetmyer in the lineup, took a six and two fours off Vala in the eighteenth over, and then he dismissed Kabua Morea for back-to-back boundaries to put the win within reach.
That meant that PNG, who had former West Indies World Cup-winning coach Phil Simmons serving as a consultant and watching from the sidelines, almost missed out on taking a first-ever scalp at this level. As they reached the midway mark of their innings at 57 for 4, it appeared as though their best chance of avoiding humiliation was gone; however, Sese Bau’s half-century and a valiant lower-order blow from Kiplin Doriga gave them something to bowl at.
West Indies 137 for 5 (Chase 42*, Vala 2-28) beat Papua New Guinea 136 for 8 (Bau 50, Russell 2-19) by five wickets.
See what we predicted: T20 World Cup 2024: WI vs. PNG, Match preview, timings and Prediction.