HARARE, Zimbabwe, CMC – Vice-captain Rovman Powell and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah got into the groove. They powered West Indies to a 114-run win against the United Arab Emirates in the second and final series of warm-up matches for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier on Thursday in Zimbabwe.
Powell slammed 105 from 55 balls and led a brutal assault on the UAE bowling after pacer Muhammad Jawadullah undermined the top-order batting of the Caribbean side before they recovered to reach 374 for nine from their allocation of 50 overs in the 50 overs-a-side match at the Takashinga Cricket Club.
“It’s essential to score runs and score runs right before the big show starts,” Powell said. “It’s the World Cup qualifiers, and getting a little bit of runs under your belt is important. Once you score runs, with it comes confidence, and you know it’s just to get good preparation going into the qualifiers.”
Cariah followed up with a destructive spell of four for 58 from his allotted ten overs, and West Indies defied an undefeated 122 off 108 balls from Basil Hameed. It restricted the Emiratis to 260 for nine from their 50 overs.
The Caribbean side failed to ease concerns about the consistency of their top-order batting as Jawadullah grabbed three for 50 in eight overs and had them wobbling on 114 for four after 16 overs.
Former white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran hit 74 from 67 balls and dominated a stand of 82 for the fifth wicket with Keacy Carty to add some meat to the total.
Pooran and Carty, who made 24, were two of three wickets that fell for two runs in 10 balls and had West Indies rocking on 198 for seven after 32 overs.
An electrifying stand of 139 for the eighth wicket between Powell and Keemo Paul enabled the runs to flow freely for the Caribbean side in the final 18 overs.
Paul made 54 from 50 balls before he fell in the 48th over, and Powell followed with two balls remaining in the innings.
“I think it was a proper inning, and I started pretty slowly, and I gave myself some time because, you know, that’s something I wanted to do for a long time now, so it’s just for me now to try and replicate that,” Powell added.
“I think it was a good batting (pitch), and batting second especially, there was not a lot of movement, nothing at all. It’s surface for batters, and batters have to get themselves out, so the guys will be looking to cash in next time on such a nice (pitch).”
West Indies met resistance from the UAE in the chase when Vriitya Aravind made 54 and shared 74 with Hameed, whose innings included nine fours and nine sixes.
Lanky pacer Jason Holder supported Cariah with two for 26 from seven overs, and the target always appeared out of reach for the Emiratis.
The World Cup Qualifier opens on Sunday, and West Indies face the United States at the same venue in their opening match.
On the prospect of the Caribbean side finishing in one of the top two positions in the qualification tournament and reaching the World Cup later this year in India, Powell said: “I think our chances are as good as any. Once we play good and good cricket for long periods, we should be OK.”
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