Mujeeb, Rasooli help Afghanistan beat West Indies in 2nd T20 to claim series

Mujeeb-ur-Rehman took a four-wicket haul which also included a hat-trick after Sediqullah Atal and Darwish Rasooli hit fifties as Afghanistan defeated the West Indies by 39 runs in the second T20 to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series in Dubai.

After posting a huge total of 189/4, Afghanistan restricted the West Indies to 150 to post the second consecutive victory. Mujeeb wreaked havoc as he ripped through the middle order of the West Indies, claiming four wickets for 21 runs off his four overs.

In reply, the West Indies were off to a stuttering start, losing the first wicket with nine runs on the board. Alick Athanaze was found short of his ground while trying to steal a cheeky run.

Zadran uprooted his stumps with a direct throw to trigger the collapse. Brandon King and Evin Lewis tried to revive the innings with a 28-run stand for the second wicket before a double strike by Mujeeb off the consecutive deliveries pushed the West Indies on the back foot again.

Mujeeb got rid of Lewis and Johnson Charles off successive deliveries. He got Lewis caught by the wicket-keeper and clean bowled Charles.

Shimron Hetmyer took the charge in his hands and started hitting the bowlers all over the ground. He hit three consecutive sixes off Noor to make his intentions clear from the beginning.

Hetmyer smashed a fiery 17-ball 46 and shared a 68-run stand for the fourth wicket to keep the chase alive. He was caught at the covers while trying to shoo away a rising delivery outside the off stump as the West Indies lost their fourth wicket.

After the dismissal of Hetmyer, King began leading the chase as he raced to his fifty off 40 balls before holing out to Rasooli as Mujeeb picked up his third scalp. Quentin Simpson became the fourth victim of Mujeeb after scoring just one run.

West Indies could never recover from there and were all out for 150 runs with seven balls to spare.

Earlier, Afghanistan got off to a faltering start as they lost the first wicket early on in the innings. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz once again failed to give a good start to his team as he was caught off Joseph by Pierre.

Just before the World Cup, the form Gurbaz can be a concern for Afghanistan as he is their one of the main batsmen. He is an explosive opener and can set the tone for a big score or a successful chase if he clicks.

Afghanistan needed a partnership to build a platform for a big total. Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal added 28 runs for the second wicket to take the score to 38/1. Zadran took the responsibility to score as he smashed a quick-fire 17-ball 22 with the help of four boundaries.

When they duo were looking set, Forde struck to give the West Indies second breakthrough. He the rattled the stumps of Zadran. With just 37 runs on the board, both the openers of Afghanistan were back in the pavilion.

The onus of taking the team to a fighting total came on the shoulders of young Rasooli, who was adjudged Man of the Match for a stellar 84 off 59 in the first match.

Rasooli and Atal knuckled down to bring the inning back on the track. They played sensibly and kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and twos, hitting the occasional boundaries.

Rasooli seemed to have picked whence he left in the first match. Not only he added 115-runs for the third wicket but also paced up his innings once he got his eyes on the ball.

Rasooli did not show any signs of slowing down and made the West Indies bowlers sweat. He raced to his fifty in just 27 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and two sixes.

Atal also changed his gears as the duo plundered runs at their will. Atal was a little more watchful as compared to his partner but he also completed his fifty off just 38 balls.

West Indies had no clue how to stop the flow of the runs. They were aware that if they wanted to contain Afghanistan to a chaseable total, West Indies needed to break this partnership. West Indies struck back in the quick-succession by getting rid of Atal and Rasooli.

Forde struck again to give a much-needed breakthrough to the West Indies. He got rid of Atal by getting him caught by Simpson at the deep square leg when the former miscued a shot.

The dismissal of Atal brought a relief in the West Indies camp. But the right-hander had done his job. Soon after the dismissal of Atal, Rasooli also holed out to Athanaze off Simmonds. His innings was studded with five fours and three huge sixes. Azmatullah Omarzai played a blitzkrieg cameo of 13-ball 26 to propel the score to 189/4.