1st ODI, West Indies v Afghanistan: Who said What

In a season of upsets where Bangladesh defeated New Zealand, Sri Lanka overhauled the mighty Indian line up and Pakistan got the better off the Proteans, Afghanistan too joined the club a few miles away from the UK at St. Lucia. As a consolation for being disqualified for the Champions Trophy, West Indies have locked horns with the ever growing Afghanistan Cricket team in a 3-match ODI series. As it turned out, Afghanistan defeated the West Indies by a handsome margin of 63 runs.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Afghanistan put up a decent total of 212, powered by the innings of Javed Ahmadi and a cameo from Gulbadin Naib. Ashley Nurse proved to be difficult to get away with as he picked up a couple of wicket without giving away much.

It was a one-man show since the West Indians took guard. The Afghan superstar from the Indian Premier League went on to take as many as seven wickets to shock the Caribbean side coming in as the fourth change bowlers. Since Rashid Khan was introduced into the attack, West Indians fell like a pack of cards and could only amass 149 runs in reply. Rashid Khan was awarded the man of the match award for his match-winning efforts of 7-18.

Rashid Khan

MoM Rashid Khan stated that his side was desperate to win the match after losing three consecutive matches. He also claimed that the wicket played its part to assist his bowling. The leg-spinner then dedicated the award to the victims of the recent attacks in Kabul

We really needed this one after losing three consecutive T20Is. I just tried my best and gave 100 percent. The pitch actually was not that good for batsmen to score quick runs but the bowlers too did their job and bowled according to the plan. I worked a lot in the nets. I had the belief in myself. I would like to dedicate this Man of the Match award to the victims of the Kabul attack. We would like to give you reasons to smile, keep us in your prayers.

Asghar Stanikzai

Afghanistan skipper seemed satisfied with the performance of his side today and seemed elated after all his plans and expectations were put into place. Stanikzai congratulated his star spinner for his match-winning efforts. He concluded by thanking the supporters of the cricket team.

We are very happy today. It is a big win for us. It has been a good day for us. We won the toss and batted first, our target was 220. We knew the conditions were good for spin and had set our target. We are looking forward to playing positive cricket. Congratulations to Rashid Khan for taking 7 wickets, he has showed how good he is. (Proceeds to thank the supporters in his native language).

Jason Holder

The losing captain confessed that his team were not good enough on the day as they lacked intent and energy in their outing. A disappointed Holder affirmed that batsmen need to step up as they are playing cricket at the highest level.

We just were not good. We lacked energy. The intent was not there the way we batted. We were 20 odd after first 10 overs and that is not expectable. Batsmen needed to put their hands up. We got to wake up and realize we are playing international cricket. We were not good enough today. We will try and improve come Sunday.