Having already secured a spot in the Super Eight stages, Afghanistan’s captain, Rashid Khan, opted for consistency and made no changes to his playing XI, choosing to field first against the hosts.
They managed an early breakthrough, but Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran quickly took charge, aiming to rebuild aggressively during the powerplay. Azmatullah Omarzai bore the brunt of Pooran’s assault, conceding a staggering 36 runs in one over.
With the West Indies’ score at 37/1 midway through the powerplay, Rashid brought Omarzai back into the attack. Omarzai managed to dismiss Brandon King in his second over, but not before a chaotic sequence of events. An edge resulted in a six on the first ball, followed by a no-ball for four and five wides.
After a dot ball, the remaining four legitimate deliveries yielded 20 runs, including two sixes over deep mid-wicket and long off. By the end of the powerplay, the West Indies had rocketed to 92/1, marking the highest-ever score in a T20 World Cup powerplay.
— Head Tarvis (@HTarvis93010) June 18, 2024
This over was only the second instance of 36 runs being conceded in a T20 World Cup, the first being Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes off Stuart Broad in 2007. Nicholas Pooran’s audacious performance left Twitter buzzing with excitement.
