Harare [Zimbabwe], June 18 : Gajanand Singh's century went in vain as West Indies kicked off their campaign with a dominant 39-run victory over the United States of America on Sunday at the Takashinga Sports Club.
The US got off to a slow start in response to the West Indies total of 297. Their opening batters Sushant Modani and Steven Taylor added 35 runs for the first wicket.
But before they could shift gears, Modani lost his wicket off a Jason Holder delivery in the eighth over. In the very next over, they were dealt a massive blow as Kyle Mayers sent Taylor (18) back to the pavilion.
US's hopes of a victory took a further hit after Monank Patel and Saiteja Mukkamalla fell in back-to-back overs, reducing them to 55/4 in 13.4 overs.
Walking in at no. 6 Gajanand Singh mounted USA's counterattack as he flayed the Caribbean attack, slowly bringing his team back into the chase.
He started building a partnership with their star batter Aaron Jones, adding 42 runs for the fifth wicket.
But the Caribbeans bounced back as Jones was dismissed after being found short of the crease in the 21st over. At the halfway stage, the US were at 106/5.
Their sixth-wicket stand raised hopes of an unlikely win after they seemed to be losing their way in the 33rd over. Gajanand and Shayan Jahangir added 58 runs in 83 balls before the latter fell to tearaway Alzarri Joseph in the 34th over.
After Shayan's dismissal, the West Indies win became a formality as the required run rate had moved past 10. They still had to contend with Gajanand who kept going for his shots. They were 182/7 at the end of 40 overs.
Gajanand and Nosthush Kenjige held onto their wickets till the final over but ended up 39 short of the winning target.
Earlier in the day, US skipper Monank won the toss and opted to bowl first. Their new-ball pair of Saurabh Netravalkar and Kyle Phillip asked several questions of the West Indies batters with their precise lines and lengths.
The duo bagged a wicket each as the West Indies lost their openers within the first six overs. At 15/2, the West Indian innings appeared to be wobbling but skipper Hope stitched a crucial stand of 115 runs with Johnson Charles, stabilising the innings.
Both batters reached their half-centuries before the 25-over mark. At the halfway stage, West Indies were at 121/2.
Hope's knock of 54 was brought to an end in the 27th over. In the very next over, Taylor sent back Charles for 66 after his mishit was safely held on the third-man boundary.
Roston Chase and Nicholas Pooran then came together to stabilise their team. Pooran with his usual free-flowing style kept finding the boundaries while Chase held the innings together from the other end.
Chase ended up losing his wicket to Netravalkar for a run-a-ball 55.
Taylor rocked the Caribbeans further, picking up back-to-back wickets by dismissing Pooran (43 from 28) and Rovman Powell (0) in the 36th over.
Experienced all-rounder Jason Holder then stepped up to the crease and took his team closer to 300 with a fiery knock of 56 (40).
However, the West Indians were eventually bowled out for 297.
Brief Scores: West Indies 297 (Johnson Charles 66(80), Jason Holder 56(40) and Saurabh Netravalkar 3/53) vs USA 258/7 (Gajanand Singh 101(109)*, Shayan Jahangir 39(49) and Kyle Mayers 2/30).
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