DUBAI—West Indies defeated Emirates Cricket Board X1 by 22 runs in a warm-up match before their first T20 International of a three-match series against Pakistan here yesterday.
New recruits to the West Indies T20 squad, Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell, inspired the innings with a half century partnership while Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine shared five wickets.
Badree and Narine conspired to erase a threatening partnership and swung the match firmly in West Indies way for them to eventually coast to an effortless win at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
Badree picked up three wickets for 20 runs while Narine grabbed two for 21 to restrict Emirates to 144 for six wickets from their 20 overs after West Indies posted 166 for seven.
West Indies, who won the toss and elected to bat, lost top order batsmen Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher and Chadwick Walton cheaply but aggressive opener Johnson Charles smashed 42 from 32 balls to keep the innings alive.
Charles’ innings included five fours and a six until he attempted to slog a flighted ball from Ahmed Raza on the on-side but got a top edge for Raza to take a superb running catch.
West Indies were 74 for the loss of four wickets halfway through their innings when Pooran and Powell came together to kick-off an explosive phase which produced 55 runs in a fifth wicket partnership.
Pooran top scored with an undefeated 47 off just 23 balls, in an innings which include four fours and three sixes while Powell scored 38 from 31 balls, hitting three sixes and picking up a boundary.
Pooran and Powell were drafted into the T20 setup on the basis of outstanding batting performances in the fourth edition of the Caribbean Premier league earlier this year.
The West Indian score looked under threat when Mohammed Qasim, who carried most of the innings and Shaiman Anwar, combined to put on 73 for the third wicket in nine overs of batting together.
But then Narine and Badree struck in quick succession to stifle the ambitions of the homeside.
Narine trapped Anwar leg before for 31, and then had Rameez Shahad for a duck soon afterwards.
Badree, who had made the initial breakthrough with two early scalps, then returned to get the wicket of Qasim, who danced down the wicket to a flighted ball but was neatly stumped by Andre Fletcher for a top score of 46.
A last wicket stand of 33 by Laxman Sreekumar and Amjad Javed, who were unbeaten on 19 and 16 respectively, was not enough to rekindle the asking rate. (CMC)
