West Indies kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 5-wicket victory over PNG, but there were more questions than answers in the co-hosts' camp after a far-from-convincing performance. Riding on Chase's Heroics Chasing a modest 137 to win, the West Indies batting lineup flattered to deceive against PNG's disciplined bowling attack. The two-time T20 world champions found themselves in a precarious position at 98/5 in the 16th over before Roston Chase played a match-winning knock of 42* off 27 balls to guide them across the line.
Chase's calm demeanour and calculated strokeplay was the difference between the two sides. The all-rounder paced his innings to perfection, finding the boundaries when required while running hard between the wickets. His two towering sixes in the 19th over effectively sealed PNG's fate.
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Bowling Causes Concern
While the bowlers eventually got the job done, there were plenty of areas of concern for the West Indies think tank. PNG's 136/8 was at least "10-15 runs too many" according to captain Rovman Powell.
The chief architect of that total was opener Sese Bau, whose patient 51 off 48 balls gave PNG a platform to attack in the death overs. Kiplin Doriga's cameo of 27* off just 14 balls compounded the West Indies' woes as the PNG lower order plundered 44 runs in the last 5 overs.
Expensive Spells
Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph had an off day, leaking 37 runs in his 4 overs without taking a wicket. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie also went for over 8 an over. In contrast, the West Indies' finger spinners Akeal Hosein and Chase were economical, combining for 1/34 in 8 overs.
Post-Game Blame Game
There was plenty of finger pointing in the West Indian camp after the nerve-wracking win, with captain Powell subtly criticizing his bowlers' lack of discipline. "Credit to PNG, they played smartly. But I think we gave away 10-15 runs too many with the ball," he remarked.
Powell was full of praise for Chase's batting heroics that salvaged the win, but made it clear that improvements are needed across all three departments. "We can certainly be better with bat, ball and in the field moving forward," he stressed.
Rankings at Stake
For the West Indies, a upset loss to an associate nation like PNG could have been catastrophic for their T20 World Cup prospects and ICC rankings. They currently sit 6th on the T20I team rankings, but another slip up against a minnow could see them plummet down the table.
The nervy win will serve as a wake-up call ahead of their next game against Uganda on June 9th. With bigger challenges looming in the form of England, India and Pakistan, the two-time champions can ill-afford any more lapses in the coming days.
