WI vs AFG highlights, T20 World Cup 2024: West Indies thrash Afghanistan by 104 runs to finish top of Group C – The Times of India

07:49 (IST), Jun 18

WI vs AFG Live Score: Windies’ highest total in the T20 World Cups

The West Indies have set a new record for the highest first innings total in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2024, surpassing their previous best in the tournament’s history. The match at St. Lucia was an absolute spectacle, with the West Indies coming out all guns blazing from the very beginning. Despite losing Brandon King early on, Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran launched a blistering assault on the Afghan bowlers. Charles had a slightly shaky start but managed to find the boundaries regularly, while Pooran wasted no time in sending the ball sailing into the stands with clean strikes.

The duo capitalized on the Powerplay, amassing an incredible 92 runs, which is now the highest ever Powerplay score in T20 World Cup history. The opposition bowling attack was left in tatters. Charles departed after scoring 43, but his contribution ensured a flying start for his team. The pace slowed down slightly around the halfway point as Pooran and Hope focused on rotating the strike and carefully navigating the spinners. They added 33 runs to the total before Hope was dismissed for 25.

Nicholas Pooran, who had started with a bang, went on to score a brilliant half-century, although the run rate dipped slightly during this phase. However, it still hovered around the 10-runs-per-over mark. Skipper Rovman Powell, who was in need of runs, chipped in with a solid 26. Pooran then decided to unleash his full potential, going berserk against Rashid in the 18th over, which yielded 24 runs and opened the floodgates. His innings was studded with 8 massive sixes, but unfortunately, he fell just 3 runs short of a well-deserved century.

In the end, the West Indies posted an imposing total of 218.