I think the cricket we have played in last 12 months or so is commendable: Rovman Powell

Rovman Powell. (Photo Source: ICC)

The Super Eight stage of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup witnessed a brilliant encounter between the West Indies and South Africa at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Monday. As the match resulted in a defeat for the co-hosts, it marked the end of their remarkable journey in the tournament.

West Indies managed to post a below-par 135 in their allotted 20 overs, but their bowlers fought back hard in the second innings. Roston Chase’s impressive performance with both bat (52 runs) and ball (three wickets) kept hopes alive for them. However, South Africa managed to chase down the revised target of 123 runs in 16.1 overs, securing a three-wicket victory via the DLS method.

West Indies captain Rovman Powell, despite the loss, expressed pride in his team’s progress over the past year. The West Indies skipper opened up about the dramatic rise in their T20 rankings.

“I think when you look on a large scale, we haven’t won the World Cup. We aren’t in the semi-finals. [But] I think the cricket we have played in the last 12 months or so is commendable. Credit has to be given to the team. If you can take a year to move from number 9 to number 3 in the world, that’s tremendous work.” Powell stated in the post-match presentation.

“We haven’t won the World Cup, but there was a lot of improvement. There’s a lot of buzz around the Caribbean again about West Indies cricket. We have done some very good things over the last 12 months,” he added.

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It’s good to see that some buzz is back in the Caribbean for cricket: Rovman Powell

Powell also acknowledged the support the team received during the home World Cup and said that it was a sign that the team is headed in the right direction. Looking ahead, Powell emphasized the importance of continued hard work and unity within the team.

“That has been fantastic. For all the venues that we have played, for all the social media likes and stuff that people have given us, we as a team appreciate it. It’s good to see that some buzz is back in the Caribbean for cricket because we know how long that has died down. Now people are rallying around the West Indies as they do. Now, when we hear the anthem play, as players we feel something. I think that is heading in the right direction,” he further added.

Also read: Nervy South Africa go past West Indies to secure semi-final berth

“Now is where the work starts. It’s for us to continue to work as a group, still be tight, and hopefully, just hopefully, we can continue to climb the rankings and make the Caribbean people proud,” Powell concluded.