West Indies beat ICC World XI by 72 runs at Lord’s. (Source: Reuters)
In what can be best described as a one-sided contest West Indies beat World XI by 72 runs in the Hurricane Relief T20 fund-raiser at Lord’s on Friday. It was a power-packed performance by the T20 Champions as they first shined with the bat to score 199/4 (20 overs) and then went on to defend the target successfully. Evin Lewis was the star of the evening as he slammed an entertaining 58 off just 26 balls and was deservedly awarded as the player of the match. Led by Shahid Afridi, who made his last appearance in an international match, World XI failed were no match for their rivals. Chasing a stiff target of 200, they lost early wickets and failed to recover from thereon. Thisara Perera’s career-best 61 was the only shining light in an otherwise dismal batting performance. They were ultimately dismissed for 127 as West Indies won the match with ease.
Congratulations to the #CricketRelief Player of the Match, Evin Lewis! pic.twitter.com/3brfFxO4Be
— ICC (@ICC) 31 May 2018
Earlier, World XI won the toss and opted to bowl on a surface which seemed good for batting. They got off to a flying start as openers Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle forged a 75-run opening stand. However, Lewis’ departure led to a flurry of wickets in quick succession as Gayle and Andre Fletcher departed soon after. However, Marlon Samuels (43) and Denesh Ramdin came together to arrest a slide and took the scoreboard past 150. Ramdin’s late cameo (44 off 25) took his side to a formidable 199/4. For WXI, none of the bowlers were able to make a mark. World No.1, Rashid Khan took two wickets but gave away 48 runs in his spell of four overs.
Windies captain Carlos Brathwaite is awarded the trophy for winning the Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge 👏 #CricketRelief pic.twitter.com/COHly2xwfn
— ICC (@ICC) 31 May 2018
Chasing 200, WXI got off to a disastrous start as they lost four wickets within the first three overs. Andre Russell and Samuel Badree did the damage taking two wickets apiece. Recovering from 8/4 was too much to ask for even some of the best players in the world. Thisara Perera was the only batsmen to show some resistance as he went on to score 61 off 37 balls. It was his knock which kept World XI in the game but once he was dismissed in the 14th over, it was a matter of mere formality. A lot was expected of Shahid Afridi but batting on one-leg he was a pale shadow of himself and could only score 11 runs. Dinesh Karthik, who was the only Indian in the side also succumbed for a duck. Mitchell McClenaghan was the last man dismissed for 10 and with Tymal Mills being unable to bat, West Indies romped home comfortably.
However, on the day, it was cricket which emerged as the real winner as some of the best players in the world came together to raise funds to rebuild stadiums across the Caribbean that were damaged by hurricanes last year.