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Cricket

West Indies prevails over USA by 39 runs, despite Gajanand Singh’s century

West Indies started off their ICC World Cup Qualifiers campaign well by defeating the USA by 39 runs. The USA’s Gajanand Singh scored a magnificent century, but it was in naught as West Indies held them to 258 for 7 in 50 overs. In the World Cup 2023 Qualifier match against the United States, West Indies batted first and were eventually bowled out for 297.

At the Takashinga Sports Club in Harare, USA requested the Windies to bat first after winning the toss. Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, and Johnson Charles all hit fifty throughout the game. With a mix of fresh talent and seasoned players, the United States of America has a good team. Steven Taylor, Gajanand Singh, Monank Patel, and Saurabh Netravalkar are important members of the US squad.

The choice by the American captain Monank Patel to field first soon paid off as Saurabh Netravalkar knocked Brandon King for a duck in the very first over. After bowling Kyle Mayers, Kyle Phillip followed suit, leaving the West Indies at 14 for 2. Shai Hope and Johnson Charles, who together scored 115 runs, were able to steady the innings. Before succumbing to Nosthush Kenjige and Steven Taylor in rapid succession, both batsmen scored their half-centuries. The attack was sustained by Roston Chase and Nicholas Pooran, which helped the West Indies reach a high total. As the former World Champions completed their final score of 297, Holder struck a magnificent knock of 56 off 40 balls.

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In response, Taylor and Sushant Modani, the American openers, were at ease up until Jason Holder got the breakthrough and started a string of wickets. While Mayers accounted for Taylor and Patel, Holder deleted Modani. The American middle order was further shattered by Alzarri Joseph. Despite Shayan Jahangir and Nosthush Kenjige’s and Gajanand Singh’s valiant centuries, the seasoned West Indian onslaught proved to be too much for the USA.

Shai Hope, West Indies captain: I do not stress on milestones much. It is about getting runs on the board, does not matter if we are getting centuries are not. Mistakes happen, we need to learn from them. Hopefully we can correct them in the next game. I think he played well; thought he should have pushed a little bit more. I think we need to be a bit more ruthless. Need to make sure that we bowl a lot more in consistent areas and think more positively moving forward. We need to plan better and execute even better. We need to get off strike better and when the balls are there, we have to capitalise.

Monank Patel, USA captain:  We started really well with the new ball, we applied ourselves. Kyle and Saurabh did really well. We created chances but our fielding was not up to standard. We dropped a lot of catches and ended up giving 30-40 runs extra. I thought the wicket was nice to bat on in the second innings. Our batters did not apply ourselves to settle at the crease. If someone had supported Gajanand, things could have been different. Really happy the way he played. I hope he continues in the next few games. We were pretty confident, there was not a lot of pressure. Just a few mistakes and we have to make sure we apply ourselves in the next game.

Jason Holder, Player of the Match: I was really pleased. The situation warranted that. Happy that we were able to get that partnership together and that I was there at the end. We need to start well. Obviously there will be process. You have to stick to your processes. We have to be disciplined and we have to stay calm. I think it is crucial. We were on the wrong side today but still came up with the right result. There is a bit of moisture so you have to be tight if you are batting first. He played a really good knock to get his team close enough to our total.

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