T20 World Cup: ‘Alzarri Josephi is our best bowler,’ West Indies skipper Pooran lauds pacer after win against Zimbabwe

Following his side’s 31-run win over Zimbabwe in their ICC T20 World Cup 2022, West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran said that his side needs to be more responsible with its batting and the partnership between Akeal Hosein and Rovman Powell was vital for them. Pace duo of Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder unleashed terror on helpless Zimbabwe batters, powering West Indies to a crucial 31-run win in their Group B round one match in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup at Hobart on Wednesday. “How to explain this (laughs). We spoke yesterday and we know we have to be responsible as a batting group, enough is enough. We tried to be conservative in the middle there but in tournaments like these sometimes things do not go your way, from the first game and then today we had a few soft dismissals. You are the creator of your own luck, Akeal and Rovman putting on that partnership at the end was vital,” said Pooran in a post-match presentation. “The energy with the ball after those first two overs.. but definitely we created and made our own luck. We spoke about the process and made a decision to bowl Mayers the first over, if you look at our pacers he is the only one who can swing the ball, unfortunately, he has not got it right but we back him. The bowlers are doing it, shot out Scotland for 160-odd, we are coming together as a group and continue to develop, we are still searching for wickets in the powerplay but we are learning.” “Jason is the most experienced bowler we have here and we expect a lot from him game after game, Alzarri as well, not only this year but since he returned to the T20 side, he is our best bowler and leader of our attack. He consistently bowls 140-plus and gets important wickets. These players are young and need to play international cricket, happy they are getting the opportunity to play at this level. Not only Jason and Alzarri, but others are contributing and we have to learn how to win as well,” he concluded. This win is a much-needed one for two-time champions, who have struggled to win matches in recent months. With this win, West Indies is in the third position with two points and one win in two games. Zimbabwe is at second place with two points and one win in two games. Batting first, West Indies put up 153/7 in their 20 overs. Johnson Charles top scored with 45 runs in 36 balls. A 49-run stand between Akael (23*) and Powell (28) turned out to be valuable for the Windies. All-rounder Sikandar Raza took 3/19 in his four overs. Blessing Muzarbani also took two wickets. Sean Williams also got a wicket. Chasing 154, Zimbabwe were not really a threat and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Luke Jongwe (29) and Wesley Madhevere (27) tried to stabilise the innings and push things in their side’s favour, but pacers Alzarri Joseph (4/16) and Jason Holder (3/12). Akael, Obed McCoy, and Odean Smith took a wicket each. Alzarri Joseph earned the ‘Man of the Match’ for his spell of 4/16.