UAE vs WI, 1st ODI |King's Maiden ODI Ton Helps West Indies Crush UAE in Series Opener
Team West Indies celebrating the wicket of Vriitya Aravind (PC: Twitter)
West Indies: 205/3 in 35.2 overs [Brandon King- 112, Shamarh Brooks- 44; Aayan Afzal Khan- 1/36 (10), Rohan Mustafa- 1/22 (6)] beat UAE: 202/10 in 47.1 overs [Ali Naseer- 58, Vriitya Aravind- 40; Keemo Paul- 3/34 (7.1), Yannic Cariah- 2/26 (7)] by 7 wickets.
A disciplined bowling performance earlier, followed by a batting masterclass from Brandon King, helped West Indies beat UAE by seven wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series in Sharjah.
Disciplined Bowling Helps West Indies Restrict UAE To 202
After electing to bat first, UAE got off to a poor start as they could only manage 43 off the first ten overs and lost two early wickets, including the in-form Muhammad Waseem, whose stumps got ratted by a sharp nip backer from Keemo Paul in the very first over of the innings.
Vriitya Aravind, with Rameez Shahzad at the other end, tried to build a partnership and ensured the host didn't lose any more wickets in the powerplay. But, unfortunately, Shahzad had to leave the field due to discomfort following a blow on his helmet off the bowling of Odean Smith.
West Indies spinners came to the attack after the powerplay and derailed the hosts further with some quick wickets, reducing them to five down with only 107 on the board around the halfway mark.
UAE were far from getting a respectable total, and it was the 19-year-old debutant, Ali Naseer, who came to the rescue with a fighting half-century and helped UAE to cross the 200-run mark. Keemo Paul was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets. Dominic Drakes, Yannic Cariah and Odean Smith took two wickets each.
Brandon Kings Leads West Indies' Chase With Maiden ODI Ton
Brandon King (PC: Twitter)
Chasing 203 to win, West Indies got off to a great start with Johnson Charles taking on Ali Naseer early on in the powerplay, extracting 18 runs off the fourth over. However, Charles could not continue long as he fell just before the end of the powerplay, and West Indies were 50 for 1.
Brandon King, who started slowly, was looking to build a partnership with Shamarh Brooks at the other end. The duo went on to add 91 runs for the second wicket, with Brooks departing after a decent 44. King completed his half-century and was looking calculative with his approach.
Eventually, King changed his gears after the end of the 30th over, taking on the likes of Zahoor Khan and Karthik Meiyappan, completing his century in a blink of an eye, his first in One Day International.
Skipper Shai Hope gave the finishing touches with two sixes, and West Indies got over the line with almost 15 overs remaining. Aayan Afzal bowled well from UAE's perspective, giving away just 36 in his ten overs with a wicket under his name. Rohan Mustafa and Zahoor Khan picked up a wicket each as well.
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