Leader Online Desk: West Indies kept alive their hopes of reaching the semi-finals with a nine-wicket win against the USA in the Super 8 round match. Now West Indies' third match will be played against South Africa on June 24. In the last match, West Indies lost badly against England. It is difficult for the US to reach the semi-finals.
With this win, West Indies have made a big change in Group Two. With this victory, West Indies have added 2 points to their account. Due to this, West Indies have reached the second position in the points table with two points. Meanwhile, England have slipped to third place with one win from two matches. The US team is fourth in the Super-8 so far without a single win. South Africa currently top the group with four points.
Batting first after losing the toss, America scored 128 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 19.5 overs. In reply, Shai Hope's unbeaten 82 saw the West Indies post 130 for one in 10.5 overs and win the match by nine wickets. West Indies have to play their next match against South Africa. If West Indies win this match, they will confirm their place in the semi-finals. Chasing a target of 129 runs, West Indies got off to a good start.
Shai Hope and Johnson Charles put on a 67-run partnership for the first wicket. On the last ball of the seventh over, Harmeet Singh had Charles caught by Milind Kumarkar. He could score only 15 runs. After this, Nicholas Pooran took charge. As an opener, he played an important role in leading the team to victory. Both had an unbeaten partnership of 63 runs. Puran scored 27 runs off 12 balls with the help of 1 four and three sixes. So, Hope had a whirlwind performance. He scored 82 runs with the help of four fours and eight sixes.
America's challenge to the West Indies
Batting first in the match, America has given West Indies a target of 129 runs to win. After losing the toss and batting first, America's innings ended on 128 runs in 19.5 overs. Andris Goss scored the highest 29 runs for USA. At the same time, Roston Chase top-scored for West Indies with three wickets, while Andre Russell and Alzari Joseph took two wickets each.
The American innings got off to a poor start with the bat. Steven Taylor was dismissed for two runs. After this, Ghaus shared a partnership of 48 runs with Nitish Kumar. This partnership was broken by Gudakesh Moti. He got Nitish lbw. Nitish was able to score 20 runs in 19 balls. Gauss also fell victim to Alzari Joseph in an attempt to increase the run rate. He was dismissed for 29 off 16 balls with the help of three fours and a six. Captain Aaron Jones (11), Corey Anderson (7) and Harmeet Singh (0) were sent to the pavilion by Roston Chase. Chase had dismissed Anderson and Harmeet off two consecutive balls in the 14th over. Milind Kumar was dismissed for 19 runs while Shadley Vaughan was dismissed for 18 runs. While Kenjige scored a run, Saurabh Netrawalkar returned to the pavilion without opening an account. Ali Khan remained unbeaten after scoring 14 runs off six balls.
