Lucknow, Nov 29 (UNI) West Indies completed a comprehensive nine-wicket victory
in the one-off Test against Afghanistan here on Friday.
Rahkeem Cornwall was the star of the show finishing with match figures of 10/121.
It took West Indies only an hour to wrap up the Test on the third day as they bowled
out Afghanistan – who resumed at 109/7 – for 120 in their second innings. Both Jason
Holder and Rahkeem Cornwall were excellent with the ball, giving the Afghan batsmen
no room to score. While Holder's areas were impeccable, Cornwall impressed with his
spin, bowling some unplayable deliveries and foxing the home team's batsmen.
It was the West Indies captain, who took the final three wickets and wrapped up
Afghanistan's innings. The first to go was Rashid Khan, who edged a delivery outside
off as Shane Dowrich held onto a juggling catch, diving to his right. He was followed
by Yamin Ahmadzai, who played down the wrong line and ended up losing his off
stump. Holder then picked up his third wicket of the innings, removing Afsar Zazai as
he tamely edged one to the keeper, an ICC report said.
The Afghan resistance lasted for only 7.1 overs as they added just 11 runs to their
overnight total, setting the visitors a meagre target of 31 to win.
West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell struck a flurry of boundaries
in the first couple of overs to rapidly race towards their small target. They suffered a small
hiccup as Hamza Hotak picked up his sixth wicket of the game, luring Brathwaite to play
on his front foot as the ball kissed his outside edge and went through to the keeper. But,
Campbell stuck to the script and hit the winning runs with West Indies chasing down the
total in less than seven overs.
While West Indies laid the finishing touches on the final day, the foundations for the win
had been laid earlier. Holder's decision to bowl first had raised some eyebrows but it
worked as they bowled out Afghanistan on the first day itself for just 187. Cornwall was the undisputed king of the day as he picked up 7/75, running through the Afghanistan top and
middle order.
In reply, West Indies stuttered in the beginning but were stabilised by Campbell and
Sharmarh Brooks, who put on a half-century stand for the third wicket. Campbell fell
shortly after raising his maiden Test fifty but Brooks went on to score his maiden Test
hundred to help West Indies take a 90-run lead. For Afghanistan, it was debutant
Hamza Hotak, who starred with the ball, taking a five-wicket haul.
West Indies continued their dominance with the ball in the second innings. Roston
Chase and Cornwall picked up three wickets each to derail Afghanistan's batting.
Javed Ahmadi's fighting 62 was not enough as the home team finished the second
day on 109/7 with only a 19-run lead.
UNI XC-BM