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King century steers West Indies
(ESPNCRICINFO) - A CLASSY 112 from Brandon King and a three wicket-haul from Keemo Paul powered West Indies to a resounding victory as they chased down 203 with 88 balls to spare against UAE, in the first of the threematch ODIs in sultry Sharjah on Sunday. While Paul was playing an ODI after almost a year, King marked his promotion to vice-captaincy with a match-winning performance.
Kicking off a new era for West Indies under new captain Shai Hope and new head coach Daren Sammy, the visitors looked untroubled chasing in testing conditions, on a pitch offering turn and uneven bounce. The win comes as a boost to West Indies as they prepare for the ODI World Cup Qualifier later this month in Zimbabwe.
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King's maiden ODI hundred came off 107 deliveries and he also ‘stitched’ a crucial 91-run match-defining stand for the second wicket with Shamarh Brooks to crush UAE. Highlights of his innings included his three clean sixes against legspinner Karthik Meiyyappan in the 34th over of the innings. Overall, he hit 12 fours and four sixes.
West Indies started the chase on a brisk note with five runs an over and maintained the run rate throughout their innings. Though it was not a difficult target on paper, West Indies had to play on a tough pitch in humid conditions. After losing Johnson Charles early for 24, Brooks played a supporting role with his 44 off 58 deliveries. Leftarm spinner Aayan Khan was able to keep West Indies at bay for some time, but it wasn't enough to stop King. With Keacy Carty, he put on 54 runs with 47 of those runs coming off his bat.
Hope hit two consecutive sixes off Meiyappan in the 36th over to seal the deal for his side.
Debutant Ali Naseer's fifty steers UAE to 202
A fighting fifty from teen debutant Ali Naseer helped UAE put 202 on board after a collapse in the middle order.
Winning the toss and opting to bat, UAE lost both openers inside the first three overs. Paul struck in his second ball when he bowled the home captain Muhammad Waseem for a duck. Left-arm pace bowler Dominic Drakes, who made his West Indies debut alongside spin allrounder Kavem Hodge on Sunday, then picked up his first ODI wicket by breaking through the defence of Aryansh Shar-
