West Indies, co-hosts of the Men’s T20 World Cup, overcame a scare to defeat Papua New Guinea in Guyana by 5 wickets.
The two-time champions won with six balls remaining, but they needed 37 to win off the last 19 balls.
They crossed the finish line thanks to the 40-run combination between Roston Chase and Andre Russell, who combined for an undefeated 42 runs.
Despite opener Tony Ura and lega Siaka’s expressive batting, PNG lost 7-2 in the third over of their innings.
PNG was down to 98-6 after opener and captain Assad Vala scored 21 runs and Sese Bau scored 50 runs off of 43 balls before being bowled by Alzarri Joseph.
To raise them to 136-8, wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga added 27 runs without conceding a wicket.
Russell and Joseph both took two wickets, while Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, and Akeal Hosein each took one.
Alei Nao responded by catching West Indies opener Johnson Charles LBW for a golden duck. Nao had the opportunity to dismiss Windies wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran for a duck in the second over, as the technology indicated that a review would have resulted in an out.
Pooran embarked on a 53-run partnership with Brandon King after surviving that early scare, but he gave up on 27.
The Windies fell from 61-1 to 97-5 after Vala removed King (34) and Sherfane Rutherford (2).
Nevertheless, Chase and Russell’s seasoned collaboration let them cross the finish line without a mishap.
They reached the needed number of runs in just 13 balls as Russell finished the 17th over by pounced on a long hop to find six, and then Chase hit a four off the following ball, given a misfield.
