West Indies eye victory in final T20 World Cup practice match

WEST Indies will aim to end their T20 World Cup preparations with a victory in a warm-up match against Afghanistan at the ICC Academy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 10 am (TT time), on Wednesday.

West Indies will play England in their opening contest on Saturday.

Many West Indies batsmen have been short of runs leading up to the T20 World Cup.

West Indies scored a modest 130/7 in 20 overs batting first against Pakistan in a practice match, on Monday.

Shimron Hetmyer, who started to find form in the closing stages of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL), struck 28 off 24 balls.

Only two other batsmen posted scores of 20 or more with captain Kieron Pollard hitting 23 off ten deliveries and Chris Gayle contributing 20 off 30 balls.

In response, Pakistan cruised to 131/3 in 15.3 overs to pull off a seven-wicket win.

Leg spinner Hayden Walsh was a bit expensive conceding 41 runs in 3.3 overs, but he was the most successful bowler with two wickets. Fast bowler Ravi Rampaul grabbed 1/19 in three overs.

Andre Russell and Fabian Allen are hoping to be fit in time for Saturday after picking up injuries in the IPL.

Afghanistan’s batting was also below par in their warm-up match against South Africa, on Monday.

South Africa scored 145/5 in 20 overs, before Afghanistan were restricted to 104/8 in reply.