West Indies win opener

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CMC):

Guyanese Gajanand Singh returned to haunt West Indies with a counter-attacking maiden One-Day International hundred, but Johnson Charles headlined a quartet of half-century makers as West Indies coasted to a 39-run victory over United States of America (USA).

In their opening Group A game of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers yesterday, West Indies rallied to a competitive 297 in the final over, with veteran Charles top-scoring with 66 off 80 deliveries.

Jason Holder struck a swift Man-of-the-Match, 40-ball 56, fellow all-rounder Roston Chase chipped in with a run-a-ball 55, while captain Shai Hope punched 54 from 60 deliveries.

In reply, USA were quickly reduced to 55 for four in the 14th over, medium pacer Kyle Mayers snatching two of the early wickets to fall to finish with two for 30 runs.

However, Gajanand, who represented West Indies at the 2006 ICC Under-19 World Cup and also played first-class and List A matches for Guyana, nearly turned the game on its head with an unbeaten 101 from 108 balls, which got the Americans up to 258 for seven off their 50 overs.

The 35-year-old left-hander struck eight fours and two sixes, engineering partnerships of 42 for the fifth wicket with former Barbados first-class batsman Aaron Jones with 23; 59 for the sixth wicket with Shayan Jahangir with 39; and 76, unbroken. for the eighth wicket with Nosthush Kenjige, who contributed 34 not out.

"I think we need to be a bit more ruthless. We need to make sure that we bowl a lot more in consistent areas and think more positively moving forward," Hope said afterwards.

"We need to plan better and execute even better. We need to get off strike better, and when the balls are there [to be hit], we have to capitalise."

One of the favourites to go through from their group, West Indies endured a nightmare start when both openers, Brandon King with nought and Mayers with two, perished cheaply inside the first six overs with only 14 runs on the board.

However, West Indies then strung key partnerships together to rebuild the innings and propel themselves to the cusp of the 300-run mark.

Charles spearheaded the revival, lashing seven fours and two sixes in his second fifty in only his third innings since returning from a seven-year spell on the sidelines, posting a crucial 115 for the third wicket with Hope, who counted seven fours and a six in his knock.

When both fell within the space of six balls to leave West Indies perched on 137 for four in the 28th over, Chase and Pooran combined in a 55-run, fifth-wicket partnership to keep the innings humming along.

Chase struck four fours and one six in his first half-century in four years, while Pooran drove the scoring with two fours and three sixes, before picking out deep cover on the ropes from off-spinning all-rounder Steven Taylor, who claimed three for 53.

Off the very next delivery, Rovman Powell holed out in the deep to depart for a first-ball duck, and suddenly West Indies were stumbling on 192 for six at the end of the 36th.

Holder arrived to launch a counter-attack, smiting two fours and three sixes to wrest the advantage back from the Americans, dominating a 74-run, seventh-wicket partnership with Chase.