The West Indies bowled off their 2024 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup on a winning note following a five-wicket win against Papua New Guinea at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday.

The Windies, who opted to field first after winning the toss, restricted the newcomers to 136-8 after their 20 overs following tidy bowling from the tournament co-hosts.

Veteran all-rounder Andre Russell (2-19) and team vice-captain Alzarri Joseph( 2-44) were the pick of the bowlers, while Ackeal Hosean, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie supported with a wicket each.

Set a victory total of 137 runs, the Windies got off to a shaky start, losing their first wicket in the second over, as opener Johnson Charles was dismissed for a duck with the score at eight runs.

Nicholas Pooran created some stability with a run-a-ball 27 as he and fellow opener Brandon King pushed the score past 60 before being sent back to the second wicket, making it 61-2 in the eighth over.

He was joined by King shortly after his dismissal for 34 runs just before the midway point as the Windies were having a mini-collapse, losing two wickets in two overs for 63 runs.

Rostan Chase stepped in to ease the pressure with a match-high 41 runs. He got support from Russell, whose cameo of 15 included the winning runs to get the team across the line for 137-5.

The win sees the Windies take the early lead in Group C on a maximum of two points.
They will next play Uganda on Saturday at the same venue.