T20 World Cup: PNG 'missed a trick towards the end,' says captain Assad Vala after narrow defeat to West Indies

Papua New Guinea captain Assad Vala regretted not scoring an extra “15-20 runs” as the team from the East Asia-Pacific region gave a scare to co-hosts West Indies in their T20 World Cup 2024 opener before going down by five wickets. On a two-paced pitch at the Providence Stadium in Guyana where the ball gripped and there was assistance for pacers, PNG batted first and scored a creditable 136/8 with Sese Bau scoring 50 off 43 balls and Kiplin Doriga smashing 27 off just 18 balls from the lower order.

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In the second innings, PNG bowlers kept things tight and reduced West Indies to 63/3 and then 85/4, not allowing the home batters to cut loose. Sherfane Rutherford was the last batter to fall from West Indies at the end of the 16th over when the hosts still needed 40 from the last four overs. However, Roston Chase (42 not out off 27 balls) and Andre Russell (15 off 9 balls) helped West Indies cross the finish line with six balls remaining.

“We knew we missed a trick towards the end,” Vala said at the end of the match. “Another 15-20 runs would’ve been nice. But from the wickets we lost early, to post 136 was a good effort.”

“Yeah, really happy with the way we fought. Got wickets in key moments. It’s an opportunity and challenge we look forward to. Want to play our best cricket against the best players.”

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Player of the Match Chase said the West Indies never took PNG lightly.

“We don’t want to take any team lightly, they (PNG) are here which means they are deserving, we want to play the same way we would play India or Australia,” he said.

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Talking about his match-winning innings, the all-rounder said the trick was to be patient on a difficult pitch.

“Very pleased to start the tournament with a win and to take the team over the line. I knew that it was hard for the batters coming in, gave myself time and backed my skills. I watched the PNG batters, they took their time and once they got in it was easy to score. I have worked hard, had a preparation camp in Antigua and brought that confidence into the game.”

Windies captain Rovman Powell felt his team conceded a few extra runs and they will need to improve in that area.

“Their plans were simple, and they play some good cricket. It’s important to get two points, and that’s what we did. It’s 10-15 too much (PNG’s total). As a bowling group, that’s what we want to tighten up,” Powell pointed out.

He also praised Chase’s knock but said the team is not performing at their level best.

“Since I turned captain, 70-80 percent team has been playing together. Starting from the bowling effort, he bowled very well (talking about Chase). And then towards the end, to hold his composure in a pressure game in WC, it’s pleasing for us. Weren’t up to the straps to the level we want to play. We were at 60-70 percent. Hopefully we can correct that for the second game.”