West Indies came up with a brilliant display to outclass the USA by nine wickets with 55 deliveries remaining in their Super Eight clash of the T20 World Cup played at Bridgetown yesterday.
The USA batted first could score only 128 runs with Roston Chase bowling best to capture three wickets for 19 runs and in reply West Indies made short work in their chase for victory scoring 130 for just one wicket in 10.5 overs.
Opener Shai Hope, recalled to the side following an injury to Brandon King, was in remarkable touch and hit eight sixes – including three in a row off Milind Kumar – in a fabulous 39-ball knock.
Roston Chase and Andre Russell had done the damage with the ball for West Indies, taking three wickets apiece.
The USA will rue a three-over spell just after the power-play in which they slipped from 51-1 to 65-4 with key batters Andries Gous and Aaron Jones dismissed.
The margin of victory was such that the Windies move ahead of England on net run-rate.
Hope has had to watch the majority of the World Cup from the sidelines.
An injury to King gave him a chance but when he batted as he did at the Kensington Oval on Friday (21) night, it was hard to fathom how he has not been in the Windies XI.
He got started by pulling Nosthush Kenjige over mid-wicket and on to the roof of the stadium and finished by going an inside-out over long-off for six.
In between, Hope displayed immaculate timing and effortless power, hitting either side of the wicket with equal effectiveness, splitting his eight sixes evenly between the off and leg side.
Having treated his home crowd to perhaps one of the most impressive batting performances of the tournament, Hope can now look ahead to a crucial showdown with the Proteas in Antigua.
After being made to wait, he has put the Windies in a position where any win is likely to be enough to advance and has given himself the chance to make a significant impact at the business end.
Scores:
United States of America: 128 in 19.5 overs (Andries Gous 29, Chase 3/19, Russell 3/31)
West Indies: 130 for 1 in 10.5 overs (Shai Hope 82 not out, Nicholas Pooran 27 not out) (BBC Sports)
