Powell, Cariah propel WI to victory in final warm-up

Vice-captain Rovman Powell and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah got into the groove and powered West Indies to a 114-run victory against the United Arab Emirates in the final warm-up match for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

Powell slammed 105 from 55 balls and led a brutal assault on the UAE bowling after pacer Muhammad Jawadullah undermined the top-order batting of the Caribbean side before they recovered to reach 374 for 9 from their 50 overs at the Takashinga Cricket Club.

Cariah followed up with a destructive spell of 4 for 58 from his allocated 10 overs and West Indies defied an undefeated 122 off 108 balls from Basil Hameed and restricted the UAE to 260 for 9 from their allocated 50 overs.

The Caribbean side failed to ease concerns about the consistency of their top-order batting as Jawadullah grabbed 3 for 50 in eight overs and had them wobbling on 114 for four after 16 overs.

Former white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran hit 74 from 67 balls and dominated a stand of 92 for the fifth wicket with Keacy Carty.

An electrifying stand of 139 for the eighth wicket between Powell and Keemo Paul enabled the runs to flow freely for the Caribbean side in the final 18 overs.

Paul made 54 from 50 balls before he fell in the 48th over, and Powell followed with two balls remaining in the innings.

West Indies met resistance from the UAE in the chase when Vriitya Aravind made 54 and shared 74 with Hameed, whose innings included 9 fours and 9 sixes.

Lanky pacer Jason Holder supported Cariah with 2 for 26 from seven overs and the target appeared out of reach for the Emrites.