West Indies Defeats Papua New Guinea by 5 Wickets in T20 World Cup Opener

In the opening match of the T20 World Cup 2024, West Indies emerged victorious by defeating Papua New Guinea (PNG) by 5 wickets. The match was hosted in Guyana, where West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl first. After restricting Papua New Guinea to a total of 136 runs in their innings, West Indies managed to chase down the target of 137 runs with 6 balls to spare.

Key players for West Indies in the chase were Roston Chase and Andre Russell. Chase played a crucial knock of 42 runs off 27 balls, while Russell contributed 15 runs to the successful run chase. Their partnership of 40 runs in the death overs sealed the victory for the West Indies.

Opening batsman Brandon King scored 34 runs, and Nicholas Pooran added 27 runs to stabilize the West Indies innings. However, with the wickets of Russell and Pooran falling, the responsibility fell on Sherfane Rutherford and Roston Chase, who guided the team to the target. West Indies secured the win with 5 wickets in hand.

For Papua New Guinea, Sese Bau was the top-scorer with 50 runs and played a vital role in their batting innings. Captain Assad Vala chipped in with 21 runs, while Kipling Doriga contributed 27 runs before getting dismissed. Akil Hussain, Romario Shepherd, and Gudakesh Motie took two wickets each for the West Indies.