Afghanistan looks to end T20I exchanges on a high
They arrived in the West Indies with 11 consecutive victories – the longest streak in the history of T20Is. It had started with their six-run win over the West Indies in a league game of the ICC World Twenty20 2016, and the streak has ended against the same opponent. The final game of the series at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on Monday gives Afghanistan a chance to make a statement and salvage some pride.
A total of seven Afghan batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores in the first T20I , which the visiting side lost by six wickets after being dismissed for 110. Rashid Khan was its best batsman with 33. In the rain-affected second game, which it had to win the level the series, Afghanistan was set a target of 123 in 15 overs, but the batting failed again. And again, seven batsmen failed to get to double digits.
Kesrick Williams, the medium pacer, returned career-best figures of 3 for 11 to take the Player of the Match award in the second game, but the foundation was laid by tight bowling by the opening duo of Samuel Badree and Jerome Taylor. In the first game, Afghanistan had failed to read Williams, Sunil Narine and Carlos Brathwaite, as the trio returned combined figures of 12-1-46-7.
The final game offers Afghanistan a chance to get the batting going, start strong and keep the tempo up for 20 overs to get to a competitive score, which will prepare it for the One-Day International series that will follow.
West Indies, meanwhile, would look to complete a clean sweep. It would be a much-needed boost to the confidence of a set of players who, in a different scenario, might well have been a part of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England and Wales.
Teams (from)
West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Samuel Badree, Ronsford Beaton, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton (wk), Kesrick Williams.
Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai (capt), Afsar Zazai, Amir Hamza, Dawlat Zadran, Fareed Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib, Javed Ahmadi, Mohammad Nabi, Shafiqullah Shafiq (wk), Nasir Jamal, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shenwari, Shapoor Zadran, Usman Ghani.