SHARJAH: Brandon King smashed a run-a-ball 112 as the West Indies gave themselves a confidence boost ahead of the World Cup qualifier by thrashing the UAE in the first ODI on Sunday.

The tourists bowled out the UAE for 202 and then chased down the target with 14.4 overs to spare to secure a seven-wicket win.

The West Indies are preparing for the World Cup qualifying event in Zimbabwe which starts on June 18 and also features the UAE.

The two-time world champions have never failed to reach the global showpiece, but only two of the 10 teams in the qualifier will reach the World Cup in India later this year.

“King is an exceptional player and someone who I thou­ght would’ve scored a lot more runs early in his career,” said West Indies captain Shai Hope.

“But happy for him. He saw the opportunity to take the game forward and happy to see him get his first hundred today.”

Seamer Keemo Paul was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with 3-34 as the hosts failed to bat out their overs despite a counter-attacking 58 from Ali Naseer.

Opener King made short work of the total, easing to his maiden ODI ton and hitting 12 fours and four sixes.

The second ODI takes place on Tuesday in Dubai, where the third and final match will also be held on Friday.

SCOREBOARD

UAE:

M. Waseem b Paul 0

A. Sharma b Drakes 5

V. Aravind c Hope b Cariah 40

R. Shahzad lbw Chase 16

A. Khan c King b Cariah 27

R. Mustafa b Drakes 7

A. Naseer c (Sub) b Paul 58

A. Khan c Hope b Smith 9

K. Meiyappan b Paul 11

J. Siddique c King b Smith 8

Z. Khan not out 0

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2, NB-1, W-14) 21

TOTAL (all out, 47.1 overs) 202

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Waseem), 2-25 (Sharma), 3-100 (Aravind), 4-105 (Shahzad), 5-107 (Asif), 6-129 (Mustafa), 7-145 (Aayan), 8-193 (Naseer), 9-202 (Siddique)

BOWLING: Paul 7.1-0-34-3 (2w), Drakes 9-1-29-2 (5w), Hodge 6-0-28-0, Smith 8-0-40-2 (2w), Chase 10-1-39-1 (1nb), Cariah 7-1-26-2 (1w)

WEST INDIES:

B. King c Sharma b Mustafa 112

J. Charles b Zahoor 24

S. Brooks lbw Aayan 44

K. Carty not out 7

S. Hope not out 13

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-3) 6

TOTAL (for 3 wkts, 35.2 overs) 206

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-48 (Charles), 2-139 (Brooks), 3-193 (King)

DID NOT BAT: K. Hodge, R. Chase, K. Paul, Y. Cariah, O. Smith, D. Drakes

BOWLING: Siddique 6-0-26-0 (2w), Naseer 3-0-32-0, Aayan 10-0-36-1, Zahoor 6-1-32-1 (1w), Mustafa 6-0-22-1, Meiyappan 4.2-0-55-0

RESULT: West Indies won by seven wickets.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2023