Many expected that the tour will be a complicated one for the West Indies, considering how the Afghanistan cricket team has taken strides in the last few years. However, the ODI and the first of the three T20Is turned out to be one-sided as the Afghanistan team dominated throughout. Two brilliant performances from the Afghanistan cricket team helped them in winning the title.
Just like in the previous match, after winning the toss, Afghanistan decided to bat first. However, the team had a very bad start as their opener, Hazratullah Zazai, was dismissed at 0 for a duck and Karim Janat, the star from the previous game was also sent back to the pavilion after scoring only 2 runs. Ibrahim Zadran ran himself out after a poor start, scoring just 1 run in 10 deliveries.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave an amazing performance and went on to score 79 runs in 52 balls. Asghar Afghan gave the much-need support to Rahmanullah. Mohammad Nabi got a couple of boundaries towards the end, but the side couldn’t get the finish they wanted. The Afghans ended up with 156 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
West Indies players Sheldon Cottrell, Kesrick Williams, and Keemo Paul picked up two wickets each for their team.
Talking about the bowling part, Afghanistan’s skipper Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib bowled some tidy overs in the middle phase, not letting their opponents get close to the target. Rashid Khan picked up the important wicket of Shimron Hetmyer and soon, Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed the dangerous Kieron Pollard to kill their run-chase.
Moments after Afghans won the match, Twitter was soon flooded with amazing reactions from fans from all around. Here, check out the reactions of twitterati:
? #AboutLastNight: @rashidkhan_19 and @MohammadNabi007 all smiles after defeating West Indies in the T20I series ?#AFGvWI #OrangeArmy #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/HPzcyjz3kA
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) November 18, 2019
?? Afghanistan’s bilateral T20I series record since January 2018:
2-0 v Zimbabwe
3-0 v Bangladesh
2-0 v Ireland
3-0 v Ireland
2-1 v West IndiesThey last lost a T20I series in June 2017 !#AFGvWI #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/GJLz6crZin
— Sports Freak (@OfficialSfreak) November 18, 2019
Afghanistan win the Azizi Bank T20I Cup 2-1 as they beat @windiescricket by 29 runs in the final match of the series at Ekana Stadium, Lucknow. #AFGvWI pic.twitter.com/H3R0To6TSW
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) November 17, 2019
A terrific performance by Man of the Match Rahmanullah Gurbaz with the bat and @imnaveenulhaq with the ball ensured Afghanistan win the Azizi Bank T20I Cup 2-1 as they beat @windiescricket by 29 runs in the Final match.#AFGvWI
— Zahir Khan (@ZahirKh39888114) November 18, 2019
Two of the finest entertainer of T20 cricket were playing against each other and Afganisthan has managed to defeat westindies and win the series , Congratulations Afganisthan
Looking forward to your Test match#AFGvWI #T20I— Winning Spirits (@SpiritsWinning) November 18, 2019
Afghanistan team after winning the T20I series 2-1 against West Indies#AFGvWI #T20I pic.twitter.com/Nkh71JjVP0
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) November 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/MakeAChangeOK/status/1196232626127831040
https://twitter.com/crickettimesAFG/status/1196163083741220864
Awesome!!! Team work will win us matches.
Also introduce more youngsters esp. fast bowlers. #AFGvWI #T20 ??? https://t.co/bcXo3XuZiM— ?? haroOon (@benshah1) November 17, 2019
What a spell from young Naveen-ul-Haq under such pressure, looked very confident bowling the big overs and was pretty much on-point with his channels and lengths. What a find, this guy should be a star in the future! #AFGvWI
— Anuraag Peesara (@anuraagp15) November 17, 2019
Congrats to #Afghanistan for beating us…Again, just like yesterday, #WestIndies batting was not up to par! The #T20WorldCup starts in exactly 11 months time in #Australia and the boys have PLENTY of work to do if we are to defend the trophy from 2016. #AFGvWI #MenInMaroon ?? https://t.co/4NakZ5WvPb
— Vijay Rahaman (@TriniSportsGuy) November 17, 2019
Has the #AFGvWI T20 series really done enough to dislodge Gayle or a soon to come out of retirement DJ Bravo?
— Caribbean Cricket Podcast (@CaribCricket) November 17, 2019
Dear Afganistan, Congratulations. we are proud of you.
Love from India ???? #AFGvWI— SamD (@sailorSamD) November 17, 2019
?????Mubarak #Afghanistan. It was #Gurboz batting target that made it difficult for @windiescricket to chase & @imnaveenulhaq bowling to keep their wickets safe plus @MohammadNabi007,@rashidkhan_1, @GbNaib, @iamnajibzadran & @ACBofficials fielding prevented them to win. #AFGvWI pic.twitter.com/ReK2zzhowc
— Diva Patang (@DivaPatang) November 17, 2019
